The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced today (May 7) that the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a disease outbreak notification on May 4, 2026, regarding a Hantavirus Andes virus cluster outbreak on the Dutch-flagged international cruise ship MV Hondius during its voyage in the South Atlantic.
As of May 5, the WHO has identified 8 cruise ship-related cases, including 3 deaths.
Of the 8 cases, 3 have been laboratory-confirmed as Hantavirus infections, and the viral genome sequencing of 2 of these cases has confirmed Andes virus, with the sequencing of the remaining cases still underway.
The WHO believes the most likely scenario for this cluster outbreak is that a passenger contracted Hantavirus through environmental exposure while traveling in Argentina or the Southern Cone region of South America, boarded the ship during the incubation period, and subsequently spread the virus through prolonged close contact, resulting in human-to-human transmission to 2 confirmed cases and at least 1 suspected case.
Based on current epidemiological and laboratory information, the WHO assesses the overall risk of this event on the cruise ship as moderate and globally as low.
Given that the outbreak is confined to a single international cruise ship and a few cases exported after disembarkation, and that there is currently no Andean virus animal host (the long-tailed rice rat) in Taiwan, the risk of direct importation into Taiwan is limited, and the domestic risk is low.
There is currently no need to raise the travel alert level.
However, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has formed a special task force to closely monitor the event and has adjusted prevention and control measures according to WHO and international recommendations.
The CDC explains that the "Hondias" will depart from Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026, traversing the South Atlantic Ocean, with stops including the Antarctic mainland, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, and Ascension Island—all highly biodiverse and remote areas.
The ship carried 147 people, including 86 passengers and 61 crew members from 23 countries, and had been anchored off Cabo Verde since May 4.
Further investigation revealed that 26 passengers disembarked near Saint Helena, 13 of whom were identified as high-risk contacts; one of these passengers returned home from Saint Helena on a commercial flight.
On May 5, Switzerland reported a cruise ship passenger who tested positive for Andean virus via PCR and is currently under isolation and treatment in Switzerland.
The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) emphasized that all previous local and imported Hantavirus cases in Taiwan have been of the "Seoul virus," a type with lower severity and mortality rate, and the Andean virus present in this cruise ship incident has never been detected.
Furthermore, there have only been two imported cases in the past: one from China in 2007 and one from Indonesia in 2019; there have been no imported cases from South America.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will continue to closely monitor the epidemic situation and strengthen public awareness campaigns to remind people traveling to South America not to come into contact with rodents, in order to reduce the threat of imported cases from South America. The public can rest assured.
Source:
Link: https://www.cdc.gov.tw/Bulletin/Detail/l26a4ubInJSp3tioH9HjiA?typeid=9
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