2026 Andes virus outbreak tracker
A live, primary-source-anchored summary of the MV Hondius cluster: case totals, timeline, jurisdictions involved, and the operational decisions taken by WHO, CDC and ECDC. Updated as new information lands.
Last updated .
Timeline
- Departure
MV Hondius leaves Ushuaia, Argentina
Vessel begins a planned Antarctic and South Atlantic itinerary with 147 people aboard: 86 passengers and 61 crew from 23 countries.
- Aboard
Cluster of febrile illness aboard
Crew identify an unusual cluster of fever and severe muscle aches. Initial working assumption is seasonal influenza acquired ashore.
- Notification
WHO notified of SARI cluster
World Health Organization receives notification of a cluster of severe acute respiratory illness on board the vessel.
- Identification
Andes virus confirmed
Reference laboratory testing identifies the hantavirus responsible as Andes virus, the only strain known to spread between people.
- Update
Case totals updated
WHO reports eight cases (six confirmed and two suspected) and three deaths. ECDC issues a rapid risk assessment classifying European public risk as very low.
- Arrival
MV Hondius docks at Granadilla, Tenerife
Vessel berths in the Canary Islands. Spanish public-health authorities begin contact tracing and clinical assessment of those aboard.
- Repatriation
18 US passengers flown back to the United States
Including one confirmed case and one symptomatic person under monitoring. CDC issues HAN advisory 00528.
- Ongoing
Contact tracing in 11+ jurisdictions
Investigation continues across at least eleven national public-health authorities. Household contacts of returning passengers are advised to monitor for 42 days.
- Secondary case
First off-ship case confirmed in Tenerife
Spain confirms a seventh case of Andes virus: a household contact of a returning passenger, identified through routine surveillance. Portugal joins the contact-tracing operation, bringing involved jurisdictions to twelve. WHO situation report DON599 is reissued with revised case definitions; ECDC and CDC reaffirm a very-low population risk classification.
Itinerary that produced the cluster
The MV Hondius's route between 1 April and 10 May 2026 passed through several ecological zones where exposure could plausibly have occurred. Argentine shore time is the leading hypothesis for the initial introduction.
1 Apr
Ushuaia, Argentina
Departure port; Patagonia is endemic for Andes virus.
Apr
Antarctic Peninsula
Multiple landings; rodent reservoir absent.
Apr
South Georgia Island
No native rodent population.
Apr
Tristan da Cunha
Limited shore time; landing party shore-side.
Apr–May
Saint Helena
Resupply; passenger shore excursions.
May
Ascension Island
Brief stop; few disembarkations.
May
Open Atlantic
Onboard clinical deterioration; WHO notified.
10 May
Granadilla, Tenerife
Final docking and disembarkation.