Everything the internet knows about the Hantavirus outbreak. Every source. Every take. No spin.
41 people across 16 US states are being monitored for hantavirus. No one has tested positive. A passenger who previously tested positive was confirmed never infected. He has no hantavirus antibodies. WHO now reports 10 total cases including three deaths. No new cases since May 2.
There are no known hantavirus cases in the United States as of Friday. Dr. Kornfeld's initial positive test was a false positive. He has no antibodies and has remained asymptomatic. Half of the 41 monitored are isolating at home. Canada is monitoring 36 people. 27 people remain on the MV Hondius. The ship is expected to arrive in the Netherlands on Monday.
The WHO confirmed the global case count dropped from 11 to 10 after the US confirmed one individual was negative. Maria Van Kerkhove said WHO experts have not identified any changes in the virus to make it more transmissible or severe. The Andes strain has circulated in Argentina and Chile for decades. Ship samples show no meaningful variation.
Four Australian citizens and two others from the MV Hondius landed at an air force base near Perth on a government-chartered flight. All tested negative and showed no symptoms before boarding. They will isolate for at least three weeks at a nearby quarantine facility. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed their safe arrival.
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Public Health Wales confirmed that a small number of Welsh residents have been linked to the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius. All are well and not showing symptoms. There are no known hantavirus cases in Wales. Six people evacuated to the UK tested negative after 72 hours at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside. They will complete a 45-day isolation period at home. Chief Medical Officer Prof Isabel Oliver said the risk to the British public remains very low.
American cruise passengers from the MV Hondius settled in for a 42-day quarantine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Travel influencer Jake Rosmarin documented his experience posting Instagram videos of his room and Starbucks deliveries. About 20 other Americans returned home and are quarantining under state guidance. Home quarantine means no sharing beds, food or attending social events. Health authorities say those in quarantine have been cooperative. No legal quarantine orders have been issued so far.
Four Australian citizens and two others from the MV Hondius flew from the Netherlands to Perth in full PPE on a government-secured charter flight. All six tested negative for hantavirus and showed no symptoms. They are subject to a quarantine order at the WA Centre for National Resilience in Bullsbrook for at least three weeks. Australian Health Minister Mark Butler called the quarantine arrangements among the most stringent in the world. Australia listed hantavirus under its Biosecurity Act.
Cruise experts say the recent hantavirus outbreak presents little risk to travelers. Dr. Jorge Salinas of Stanford said your risk of getting hantavirus on a plane or cruise is "very close to zero." Former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said he is "pretty confident" the public health community has the right response. Dr. Gonzalo Bearman of VCU Health called a wider cruise outbreak "extremely unlikely."
The WHO confirmed 10 global hantavirus cases after one individual was confirmed negative. Eight cases were laboratory-confirmed and two were classified as probable. Three people have died since the outbreak began. The ship's 26-member crew remain on board with no symptomatic individuals. WHO warned more cases may be reported as passengers return to their countries. "This does not mean the outbreak is expanding," Tedros said.
An infectious diseases physician argues that a concurrent hantavirus outbreak and a major Ebola outbreak in Congo's Ituri province reveal that we are already living in the era of emerging infectious diseases. The Congo Ebola outbreak has resulted in 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths. Both outbreaks underscore that international health emergencies cannot be managed by countries acting alone.
A comprehensive clinical overview of hantavirus following the Atlantic cruise ship outbreak. Hantavirus infects an estimated 10000 to 100000 people globally each year. The Andes virus is the only hantavirus capable of person-to-person transmission. HCPS has a fatality rate of 40 to 50 percent. There are no FDA-approved drugs. An infectious disease specialist at Children's National Hospital said: "With appropriate isolation and quarantine this outbreak should be limited."
Public health officials in at least 10 US states are monitoring residents for symptoms after potential hantavirus exposure linked to the MV Hondius. Those states are Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Kansas is monitoring three people with high-risk exposure to a confirmed case outside the US. A California resident is being monitored in the remote Pitcairn Islands. There are no known cases in the United States.
Scientists warn that rodent-borne viruses like hantavirus are likely to spread to more countries due to climate change. A new study in npj Viruses tracked how climate change is reshaping the risk of arenaviruses jumping from animals to humans. As temperatures rise and land use changes, rodent populations shift and carry viruses into new territories. "Our study shows how the outbreak risk could ride on shifting rodent populations to reach millions more people," researchers said.
41 people across 16 US states are being monitored for hantavirus. No one has tested positive. A passenger who previously tested positive was confirmed never infected. He has no hantavirus antibodies. WHO reports 10 cases including three deaths. No new cases since May 2.
Four Australian citizens and two others from the MV Hondius landed at an air force base near Perth on a government-chartered flight. All tested negative and showed no symptoms before boarding. They will isolate for at least three weeks at a nearby quarantine facility.
The CDC confirmed no known hantavirus cases in the US as of May 15. 41 people across 16 states are being monitored. Dr. Kornfeld's initial positive was a false positive. He has no antibodies and has remained asymptomatic. A third test came back negative. The WHO confirmed 10 total cases including three deaths.
There are no known hantavirus cases in the United States as of Friday. Dr. Kornfeld's initial positive test was a false positive. He has no antibodies. Half of the 41 monitored are isolating at home. Canada is monitoring 36 people. 27 people remain on the MV Hondius. The ship is expected to arrive in the Netherlands on Monday.
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. said he is "not worried" about hantavirus as two patients arrived in Atlanta from the MV Hondius. Kennedy said the CDC had teams on the outbreak from day one. One symptomatic patient went to Atlanta's biocontainment lab. 16 others went to Nebraska. Governor Kemp praised Emory's capabilities.
The hantavirus outbreak has revived COVID-era fears and misinformation online. False claims include that ivermectin treats hantavirus. Health officials are trying to learn from COVID communication mistakes. WHO's Tedros wrote an open letter to the people of Tenerife: "This is not another COVID." The CDC put out its first information five days after news broke.
The WHO confirmed the global case count dropped from 11 to 10 after the US confirmed one individual was negative. Maria Van Kerkhove said WHO experts have not identified any changes in the virus to make it more transmissible or severe. The Andes strain has circulated in Argentina and Chile for decades. Ship samples show no meaningful variation.
Dr. John Beckham of UT Southwestern explains hantavirus is a group of at least 20 virus species. The Andes virus is the only strain that can spread human-to-human through respiratory droplets. It spreads most in the first 24 hours of fever. The Sin Nombre virus causes 10 to 50 US cases annually. UT Southwestern is developing a sequencing laboratory for onsite diagnosis capabilities by 2027.
The CDC confirmed no hantavirus cases in the US from the MV Hondius outbreak. Three people died. 41 people are monitored including 18 quarantined in Nebraska and Atlanta. The WHO says this poses no pandemic threat and is not comparable to COVID-19.
The last MV Hondius passengers disembarked in the Canary Islands. They boarded flights to 20 or more countries for quarantine. A French woman was confirmed infected. Three have died. WHO's Tedros told returning nations "there is nothing to fear."
The Andes virus has a fatality rate of about 40 percent. It affects the lungs. It can spread human-to-human under close sustained contact. Most hantavirus strains cannot do this. Investigators believe the first infection happened during land activities in Argentina before the cruise began.
The CDC is responding to an Andes virus outbreak first reported May 2 2026. No confirmed US cases exist. Americans were repatriated to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit and Emory University Hospital. Both are high-containment facilities. The overall risk to the American public remains extremely low.
Two Houston-area MV Hondius passengers are not showing symptoms. They left the ship in late April before the virus was identified. Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine said the initial exposure likely occurred in southern Argentina. He added: "This is not COVID. It is not nearly as transmissible."
The WHO confirmed eight hantavirus cases including three deaths aboard the MV Hondius as of May 8. All confirmed as Andes virus. The working hypothesis is that the first case was infected in Argentina before boarding. Four patients remain hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Hantavirus is transmitted through infected rodent saliva, urine or droppings. Symptoms include fatigue, fever and muscle aches. These can progress to life-threatening respiratory distress. There is no specific treatment. Early oxygen therapy helps. Prevention means sealing home entry points and wearing an N95 when sweeping rodent-prone areas.
18 US citizens from the MV Hondius arrived safely in Omaha for evaluation. Officials called public risk "very very low." One passenger tested positive but remained asymptomatic. Another with mild symptoms was transferred to Emory. Nebraska's Governor assured that no one posing a health risk would leave unsecured.
About 36 people across 16 US states were exposed to hantavirus from the MV Hondius. 16 are quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Two are at Emory in Atlanta. Others are monitored at home across Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Maryland and more.
The WHO says the first MV Hondius case acquired infection through land-based exposure in Argentina. Argentina has the highest hantavirus incidence in Latin America. Human-to-human transmission then followed onboard. As of May 14 there were 11 cases including three deaths. Both CDC and WHO assess public risk as low.
An American and a French national both tested positive after leaving the MV Hondius. A French woman evacuated to Paris is deteriorating. 22 contacts were traced. An American tested mildly PCR positive in Omaha but remains asymptomatic. The US withdrawal from the WHO has complicated international coordination.
Dr. Jorge Salinas breaks down the key facts. The virus primarily infects wild rodents not house mice. The Andes strain has limited person-to-person spread. The US fatality rate is 35 percent. Travel risk is negligible on planes or cruises. No approved vaccines or antivirals exist largely because the disease is so rare.
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, 69, an Oregon oncologist who helped care for sick MV Hondius passengers, tested negative for hantavirus. He had an initial faintly positive result. Confirmatory PCR testing came back negative. Blood tests are still pending. He moved to the general quarantine unit with 15 other Americans. None are showing symptoms.
Experts say COVID PTSD is real but hantavirus is fundamentally different. It is not new. It does not spread efficiently. It requires close prolonged contact. The CDC confirms no quarantine orders exist. WHO says there is no sign of a larger outbreak beginning.
Travel content creator Jake Rosmarin is quarantined for 42 days at Nebraska's National Quarantine Unit. He is posting Instagram videos of his exercise bike and Starbucks deliveries. He says he is trying not to think about whether he is infected. His biggest goal is his first hug with family after release.
A French MV Hondius passenger is in very critical condition in Paris. Doctors cleared her before her evacuation flight. They said her symptoms were not compatible with hantavirus. She tested positive only after arriving in France. 22 contacts were traced by French health authorities.
Andes hantavirus poses low public risk. But it is exposing gaps in US public health infrastructure. CDC faced criticism for a delayed response. Workforce cuts of about 10 percent were cited. Georgetown's Gostin said: "If this is a stress test we failed."
Specialists from Harvard, Stanford, Mayo Clinic and others weigh in. The Andes virus is not established in US rodent populations. A pandemic is unlikely. Transmission rate is just 3 percent. Up to 17 percent among intimate contacts. Five experts say measles is currently a bigger US health threat than hantavirus.
A Nature correspondence argues the MV Hondius cluster reveals a broader scientific failure. New World hantaviruses are too rare to attract sustained research. But they are too lethal to ignore. mRNA and adenovirus vaccine platforms could enable rapid development. But sequencing, structural biology and vaccine teams work in parallel rather than as coordinated networks.
As of May 14 more than 40 US people are monitored with no confirmed cases. Dr. Kornfeld tested negative twice and rejoined quarantine. Argentine, Chilean and Uruguayan officials are disputing which country was ground zero. RFK Jr. said "We have this under control and we are not worried about it" during an Oval Office event.
COVID-19 permanently changed how people react to outbreak news. Arizona State's Elisa Bienenstock said "COVID undermined our trust in what most of us used to trust." Stanford's Michele Gelfand warned that without institutional trust people rely on rumor, fear and emotion. Residents of Tenerife expressed fear despite official reassurances.
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel said "the comparison ends at that they are both single-stranded RNA viruses." Hantavirus has not mutated. It is a secretion-borne virus rather than airborne. It is "very difficult to transmit." Most infectious disease specialists are more concerned about flu than hantavirus.
Dr. Jason Zucker of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia says globally between 10000 and 100000 hantavirus infections occur annually. Only 890 US cases were reported over three decades. Person-to-person Andes transmission requires sustained intimate contact. Sexual partners and close household members face a 10-fold higher risk. A pandemic is highly unlikely.
Betsy McCaughey argues the MV Hondius outbreak was entirely preventable. A 70-year-old Dutch birdwatcher visited a rat-infested dump in Argentina before boarding. No testing was done when he died April 11. The ship allowed 34 passengers to disembark freely. A Dutch hospital quarantined 12 staffers after mishandling patient samples.
WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said: "We do believe there may be some human-to-human transmission among really close contacts." Island wildlife stops may have also exposed passengers. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Celine Gounder added: "This is not a pandemic kind of virus."
Business Insider breaks down the MV Hondius outbreak. The Andes strain is the only hantavirus with documented human-to-human transmission. First case: a 70-year-old Dutch man who died April 11. His wife died in Johannesburg. A German national died May 2. WHO said: "This is not COVID. This is not influenza."
Most US hantavirus cases come from deer mice in the desert Southwest. Common risky locations are garages, sheds, attics, barns, storage units and unused vehicles. Dr. Linda Yancey: "Most people are exposed when cleaning out sheds and garages." Never vacuum rodent droppings. Soaking with diluted bleach first is the correct approach.
Two Georgia residents from the MV Hondius are being monitored at Emory's Serious Communicable Diseases Unit. One showed mild symptoms but has since tested negative. Both are in a biocontainment unit. Health officials have not confirmed when they will be cleared. Doctors say there is no risk to the general public.
Alexander Campbell of Black Snow Capital and former Bridgewater head of commodities sold his oil holdings. He cited the virus's R0 of roughly 2.7 and its long incubation period. He took a defensive short on oil futures equal to 15 percent of his oil positions. A Virginia Tech study warns of a hidden reservoir that symptom-based surveillance alone may fail to detect.
The Motley Fool advises caution on hantavirus biotech stocks. Three reasons: hantavirus is far less contagious than COVID and unlikely to create a large vaccine market; it is nearly impossible to predict which companies will succeed; and even COVID vaccine makers like Pfizer significantly underperformed the S&P 500 after the pandemic peak.
The number of Americans monitored for hantavirus rose to 41 from a previous count of 36 in 11 states. CDC incident manager Dr. David Fitter defended the agency's response. Testing is recommended only for symptomatic people. High-risk contacts should choose home or facility-based isolation. Low-risk contacts self-monitor for 42 days with no travel restrictions.
The Virginia Department of Health is monitoring one Virginia traveler who was aboard the MV Hondius. That person returned home and is in good health under public health monitoring. No formal quarantine orders have been issued. Dr. Caitlin Rivers of Johns Hopkins explained monitoring involves daily symptom check-ins. Additional cases remain possible in the coming weeks.
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