CDC raises hantavirus response to Level 3 after deadly MV Hondius outbreak

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has activated a Level 3 emergency response over the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, while stressing that the risk to the general public remains extremely low. The CDC said it is working with other US agencies and international partners, particularly because some American passengers left the ship before the outbreak was identified and have since returned to the United States.

According to the World Health Organization, the outbreak was reported on May 2, 2026 and has been linked to Andes virus, a type of hantavirus that can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe and potentially deadly lung disease. WHO said that, as of its latest update, eight cases linked to the ship had been identified, including three deaths, with five of the eight confirmed as hantavirus infections.

The CDC said the outbreak was reported on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, while WHO said the vessel had sailed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and later travelled through several remote locations before reaching waters off Cabo Verde. WHO added that the known onset of illness ranged from April 6 to April 28, suggesting the earliest infections were unlikely to have begun late in the voyage.

WHO has said human infection is usually linked to contact with infected rodents, although limited person-to-person transmission has been recorded in previous Andes virus outbreaks. Even so, the organisation currently assesses the global public health risk as low.

Dutch media also reported that a KLM flight attendant who had been in close contact in Johannesburg with a Dutch passenger later isolated over hantavirus concerns was admitted to hospital in Amsterdam with mild symptoms. However, follow-up testing found that the flight attendant did not have hantavirus.

The CDC said its immediate priority is the safe management and repatriation of affected American passengers, while WHO continues to coordinate the broader international response.