Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

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/1781829717283Screen Shot 2026-06-19 at 8.41.46 AM.png" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Spread by rodents, hantavirus is a rare virus for which no vaccines or specific treatments exist. <em>Photo from CDC website</em><br/></span></span></span></div><p>GENEVA, Switzerland — Almost all the passengers and crew of the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak who had to quarantine in the Netherlands are now allowed to return home, the WHO chief said Thursday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/5/5/what-is-hantavirus-and-can-it-spread-between-humans-0926">What is hantavirus, and can it spread between humans?</a></div><p>There were 12 confirmed and one probable case stemming from the MV Hondius, including three deaths, in an outbreak which sparked an international health alert.</p><p>The Dutch-flagged ship set off April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina, taking in remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean before heading north to Cape Verde, then Tenerife in Spain&#x27;s Canary Islands, where remaining passengers were evacuated.</p><p>The polar exploration ship docked on May 18 in Rotterdam harbor in the Netherlands, Europe&#x27;s largest port, with the skeleton crew facing weeks of quarantine.</p><p>&quot;Almost all of MV Hondius passengers and crew members who have been quarantined in the Netherlands are now allowed to return home, including non-nationals,&quot; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, said on X.</p><p>He said that &quot;with no new cases reported in over deaths reported since May 2, the situation remains stable&quot;.</p><p>On May 30, the ship was cleared to put to sea again after cleaning and disinfection.</p><p>And on June 8, St Helena, where many passengers disembarked, announced the conclusion of the hantavirus major incident declared on the remote British island, home to around 4,400 close-knit people.</p><p>&quot;All individuals who were identified as contacts and required to self-isolate have now successfully completed their mandatory 42-day isolation periods,&quot; the island&#x27;s government said.</p><p>Their &quot;immense patience&quot; and resilience&quot;were vital to ensuring the safety of our entire community&quot;, it said.</p><p>&quot;There are no active, suspected, or confirmed cases on the island, and there is no further risk to the public.&quot;</p><p>Spread by rodents, hantavirus is a rare virus for which no vaccines or specific treatments exist.</p><p>The Andes species behind the Hondius outbreak is the only strain of hantavirus known to be able to jump from human-to-human.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sRUWRdvmTgw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Almost all the passengers and crew of the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak who had to quarantine in the Netherlands are now allowed to return home, the WHO chief said Thursday.</p>

Almost all the passengers and crew of the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak who had to quarantine in the Netherlands are now allowed to return home, the WHO chief said Thursday.

Quarantine over for almost all hantavirus ship passengers, crew

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Quarantine over for almost all hantavirus ship passengers, crew

Agence France-Presse

Published June 19, 2026 08:43 AM PHT

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Agence France-Presse

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