Jamaine Punzalan

This undated handout photo from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obtained on May 6, 2026, shows a photograph taken through a microscope showing some of the histopathologic details seen in a lymph node specimen that had been extracted from a patient suspected of a hantavirus illness. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/AFP

Article (news)

hantavirus

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1778194014006AFP__20260506__A9ZA6CU__v1__MidRes__UsHealthHantavirus.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">This undated handout photo from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obtained on May 6, 2026, shows a photograph taken through a microscope showing some of the histopathologic details seen in a lymph node specimen that had been extracted from a patient suspected of a hantavirus illness. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/AFP</span></span></span></div><p>The World Health Organization said Thursday that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/8/who-andes-strain-of-hantavirus-infected-one-of-8-patients-on-mv-hondius-0114">killed three passengers from a cruise ship</a> but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.</p><p>Another sick passenger from the MV Hondius landed in Europe earlier in the day, as the vessel headed to the Spanish Canary Islands and health officials scrambled to map the outbreak of the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/8/who-andes-strain-of-hantavirus-infected-one-of-8-patients-on-mv-hondius-0114">potentially deadly human-to-human strain.</a></p><p>The fate of the Hondius sparked international alarm after three people travelling on it died, though health officials have played down fears of a wider global outbreak from the<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/4/explainer-what-is-hantavirus-1844"> rat-borne virus</a>, which is less contagious than <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/4/23/next-pandemic-is-inevitable-what-it-means-for-the-philippines-1400">Covid-19.</a></p><p>WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva that five confirmed and three suspected cases had been reported overall, including the three deaths.</p><p>&quot;Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it&#x27;s possible that more cases may be reported,&quot; he said, referring to the rare strain detected aboard the Hondius, which can be transmitted between humans.</p><p>The Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands later announced another patient had tested positive.</p><p>But the WHO&#x27;s emergency alert and response director Abdi Rahman Mahamud insisted: &quot;We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity shown across all countries.&quot;</p><p>People thought or known to have contracted the virus are being treated or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RARE DISEASE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Hantavirus is a rare respiratory disease that is usually spread from infected rodents and can cause respiratory and cardiac distress as well as haemorrhagic fevers. There are no vaccines and no known cure.</p><p>A passenger is thought to have contracted the virus before boarding the ship in Argentina and eventually infected others on board as it sailed across the Atlantic.</p><p>Three evacuees were whisked away from the ship on Wednesday when it anchored off Cape Verde and a fourth landed on Thursday in Amsterdam, said the vessel&#x27;s operator, Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions.</p><p>&quot;No symptomatic individuals are present on board&quot; the ship at the moment, as it sails toward the Spanish island of Tenerife, it said in a statement.</p><p>The ship is scheduled to arrive there on Sunday and those on board will be evacuated.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/7/38-filipino-crew-of-mv-hondius-seek-repatriation-amid-hantavirus-scare-1648">38 Filipino crew of MV Hondius seek repatriation amid hantavirus infections</a></div><p>Oceanwide Expeditions said there were 149 people on the ship, including 88 passengers.</p><p>Officials in Argentina said they planned to test rodents in the coastal city of Ushuaia, from where the ship had set sail on April 1.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FIRST CASE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>A Dutch man who had boarded in Ushuaia along with his wife died aboard the ship on April 11.</p><p>The man&#x27;s body was taken off the ship on April 24 in Saint Helena, an island in the south Atlantic where 29 other passengers disembarked, the ship&#x27;s operator said.</p><p>It said it was working to trace all passengers and crew who got on or off the ship since March 20.</p><p>Tedros said the WHO had informed 12 countries that their nationals disembarked from the cruise ship on Saint Helena.</p><p>The Saint Helena government said &quot;more than 95 percent&quot; of the population had no close contact with the ship&#x27;s passengers or crew, or boarded the vessel, and are currently &quot;at an extremely low risk of infection&quot;.</p><p>The deceased man&#x27;s wife -- who left the ship to accompany his body to South Africa -- died there 15 days later after also falling ill, with hantavirus confirmed as the cause on May 4.</p><p>The couple had visited Chile, Uruguay and Argentina before the cruise, Argentine officials said.</p><p>Chile&#x27;s health ministry said the two passengers who died were not infected in that country as they travelled there at &quot;a period that does not correspond to the incubation time&quot;.</p><p>According to the WHO, the incubation period for hantavirus can be up to six weeks.</p><p>The Dutch woman had flown on a commercial plane from the island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg while she was showing symptoms.</p><p>Officials were trying to trace people on that flight, which South African-based carrier Airlink said was carrying 82 passengers and six crew.</p><p>A German passenger died on May 2. Her body remains on the ship.</p><div><strong>MORE STORIES ON THE HANTAVIRUS:</strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/4/explainer-what-is-hantavirus-1844">EXPLAINER: Spread by rodents, Hantavirus is potentially fatal, with no specific cure </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/7/explainer-what-happens-when-mv-hondius-docks-in-the-canary-islands-0150">EXPLAINER: What happens when MV Hondius docks in the Canary Islands? </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/5/pls-publish-at-1130pm-who-human-to-human-transmission-suspected-on-hantavirus-cruise-ship-2330">WHO: Human-to-human transmission suspected on hantavirus cruise ship </a><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>The World Health Organization said Thursday that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.</p>

The World Health Organization said Thursday that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.

WHO warns of more hantavirus cases in 'limited' outbreak

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Health & Science

WHO warns of more hantavirus cases in 'limited' outbreak

Agence France-Presse

Published May 08, 2026 06:50 AM PHT

Read More:

hantavirus

health

WHO

ANC promo

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.