Hantavirus Global Situational Briefing — May 14, 2026
WHO DON-601 (May 13) reclassifies the MV Hondius cluster to 8 confirmed + 2 probable + 1 inconclusive cases with 3 deaths (CFR 27%), backed by near-identical genomic sequences (≤1 SNP) confirming a single zoonotic spillover with subsequent shipboard human-to-human spread. A 65-year-old French passenger is on ECMO at Hôpital Bichat in Paris. Spain has confirmed its first-ever Andes virus case (asymptomatic at Gómez Ulla). The US inconclusive case (ship's physician) awaits a third round of testing. CDC clarifies that quarantine remains voluntary with a 42-day monitoring window through June 22. MV Hondius is transiting to Rotterdam (ETA May 17–18). Argentina's MoH dispatched a scientific team to investigate the rodent-exposure origin. Americas endemic figures: Argentina 102/32, Brazil 8/2, Chile 39/13. Three new ANDV genome sequences deposited to Pathoplexus. Reuters debunks '159 cases' misinformation.
WHO Disease Outbreak News DON-601 reclassifies the MV Hondius cluster to 8 confirmed + 2 probable + 1 inconclusive cases and 3 deaths (CFR 27%). A French passenger remains on ECMO at Hôpital Bichat in Paris. The US inconclusive case awaits final retesting. MV Hondius is expected in Rotterdam on May 17–18.
This briefing covers the delta window 2026-05-13 00:51 UTC+8 → 2026-05-14 00:00 UTC+8.
Case status: WHO DON-601 reclassification
WHO published its third Disease Outbreak News on the MV Hondius cluster — DON-601 — on May 13, revising the case breakdown to 8 laboratory-confirmed Andes virus (ANDV) infections, 2 probable cases, and 1 inconclusive case, with 3 deaths and a case fatality rate of 27%. 1 The total of 11 linked cases is unchanged from the previous reporting cycle, but the classification structure has shifted: two passengers (France and Spain) were upgraded from pending to confirmed, and the US passenger previously designated a probable case was reclassified to inconclusive after contradictory laboratory results.
ECDC's independently maintained daily monitoring page, updated May 13, shows an identical count — 8 confirmed, 2 probable, 0 suspected, 1 inconclusive, 3 deaths — and notes no new cases or deaths since the previous update. 2
DON-601 contains the most detailed genomic characterization to date. Preliminary sequencing across cases showed no more than one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) difference per individual, a near-identity that "strongly indicates that the outbreak likely arose from a single zoonotic spillover event" followed by human-to-human transmission onboard. 1 The circulating strain is designated ANDV/Switzerland/Hu-3337/2026 and is not a novel variant. The working hypothesis for the index case: exposure to rodent-carrying material during a bird-watching excursion on land, prior to boarding. Passenger mean age was 65 years. WHO's risk assessment remains moderate for persons directly exposed on the ship and low at the global level.
French patient: ECMO and "final stage of supportive care"
The French passenger — a 65-year-old woman confirmed ANDV-positive — remains in the intensive care unit of Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard in Paris. Her condition deteriorated further on May 13; she is now on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a circuit that diverts blood through an external oxygenator when the lungs and heart cannot sustain adequate function independently. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Xavier Lescure described ECMO as "the final stage of supportive care." 3
The patient developed symptoms during her repatriation flight from Tenerife and was admitted directly to Bichat on arrival. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist confirmed she is one of five French nationals repatriated from the Canary Islands. 3 Twenty-two contacts have been traced from passenger check points; no update on contact tracing outcomes was available as of the end of the reporting window.
Spain confirmed; US case remains inconclusive
Spain's Ministry of Health officially confirmed the country's first-ever ANDV case on May 13. The patient — a repatriated MV Hondius passenger — tested positive on arrival and is being monitored at the Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla in Madrid. As of the close of the reporting window, the patient is asymptomatic and clinically stable. 1 Thirteen other Spanish passengers quarantined at Gómez Ulla tested negative. 4
The US passenger is Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, the ship's physician who stepped in during the acute phase of the onboard outbreak. His case was originally reported as a confirmed positive but returned a contradictory result: one positive from one laboratory, one negative from a second. CDC has classified the case as inconclusive pending a third round of testing. 5 Kornfeld experienced mild symptoms and is currently in a biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). Spain's Ministry of Health posted on X that his subsequent test returned negative, though CDC has not yet updated its public situation summary to reflect the DON-601 reclassification. 4
CDC incident manager David Fitter clarified in a May 13 press briefing that no federal or state quarantine orders are in force: "Currently, there are no state or federal quarantine orders that have been drawn." 6 The agency is encouraging passengers to remain at UNMC or self-isolate at home, but participation is voluntary. The 42-day monitoring period runs from May 11 through June 22. Fitter characterized the approach as "conservative." Travel influencer Jake Rosmarin, one of the UNMC passengers, said: "I made that decision immediately, that I want to be here for that 42 days, because I know that if I'm here, I'm going to be in the best care possible, no matter what." 4
US domestic monitoring: 11+ states, one unrelated possible case
Contact monitoring has spread across at least 11 US states. Fifteen passengers are in standard quarantine units at UNMC's National Quarantine Unit (20 rooms with negative air pressure), with state of residence breakdown: California (2), North Carolina (1), Oregon (1, Dr. Kornfeld), New York (3), Utah (3). Two passengers — a couple — were transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to preserve UNMC capacity. 4
Passengers who disembarked before the mass evacuation are in home monitoring in California (2), Texas (2), Arizona (1), and Virginia (1). Additional contact-exposed individuals under monitoring include three Kansas residents who had close contact with an infected person outside the ship, two Maryland residents and two New Jersey residents who shared flights with a confirmed case, and one Minnesota resident with cruise passenger contact. 7 All UNMC patients were asymptomatic as of May 12 per HHS confirmation.
Illinois is separately investigating a possible hantavirus case with no link to MV Hondius: a state resident who was exposed while cleaning a home with rodent droppings. CDC confirmatory testing may take up to 10 days. 4 California State Public Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan noted: "Decades of experience in South America have shown that this Andes hantavirus rarely spreads between people." 7
MV Hondius transit and Argentina's origin investigation
MV Hondius is en route to Rotterdam with an ETA of May 17–18. Twenty-seven people remain aboard — 25 crew members and 2 Dutch public health workers from RIVM (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) — none of whom are symptomatic. The disinfection protocol is being finalized in coordination with RIVM. 8
Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship's operator, reversed course on its public communications within 72 hours. On Monday the company said it did "not foresee changes to our operations"; on Wednesday it said: "We expect clarity on whether the vessel will sail and the sailing schedule by the end of this week." 8 MV Hondius is currently listed on the Oceanwide website as scheduled to depart Keflavik, Iceland on May 29 for an Arctic cruise. Whether that sailing proceeds is unresolved. ECDC virologist Andreas Hoefer stated: "There is no data to suggest that this virus is behaving differently in terms of transmissibility or severity from any of the known virus circulating in certain regions of the world." 8
Argentina's Ministry of Health announced on May 13 that it is dispatching a team of scientific experts to investigate the outbreak's geographic origin. The team's focus is a landfill or garbage dump that the Dutch couple — believed to be the index case pair — may have visited during a bird-watching tour prior to boarding. The couple spent several months in Argentina and neighboring South American countries before the voyage. Local officials in the relevant province have disputed that the outbreak began in their jurisdiction. 39
ECDC guidance update and CDTR Week 20
ECDC published a new infographic on May 13 covering self-quarantine recommendations for asymptomatic contacts of Andes virus, including symptom monitoring criteria (fever ≥38°C, chills, fatigue, myalgia, chest tightness, cough, and shortness of breath), quarantine requirements, hygiene measures, and key behavioral guidance. 10
ECDC also published its Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) for Week 20 (covering May 9–13) on May 13 — the first edition to carry a hantavirus section alongside its routine avian influenza, human swine influenza, and mpox updates. 11 The PDF's specific data on European HFRS (hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) and Puumala virus spring activity could not be extracted in this reporting cycle due to tool limitations.
Americas endemic surveillance: no changes
Argentina: No mid-week press releases or epidemiological alerts were issued within the collection window. Current confirmed figures remain 102 cases and 32 deaths for the 2025–26 season, CFR 31.4%. 12 The next Boletín Epidemiológico Nacional (BEN SE18) is not expected until approximately May 19.
Brazil: Federal surveillance figures from Ministério da Saúde remain at an April cutoff of 7 cases and 1 death. Including state-level confirmations, the running total for 2026 is 8 confirmed cases and 2 deaths. 13 Paraná state reports 2 confirmed cases, 21 discarded, and 11 under investigation. Dr. Victor Horácio de Souza Costa Júnior, an infectious disease physician at PUCPR (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná), noted: "Não é como a Covid-19... A transmissão se dá por aerossóis derivados de urina, saliva e fezes de roedores silvestres" ("It is not like COVID-19... Transmission occurs through aerosols derived from the urine, saliva, and feces of wild rodents") — no epidemic risk from Brazilian hantavirus strains. 14
Chile: No MINSAL official updates were found in the collection window. Current totals remain 39 cases and 13 deaths, CFR 33%. 15 The Aysén region patient — a 66-year-old male from Coyhaique, admitted on mechanical ventilation to a Santiago hospital — remained unchanged from the May 12 checkpoint.
Genomics pipeline: 3 new sequences; 159-case rumor debunked
Three additional complete ANDV whole-genome sequences were deposited to Pathoplexus, the open-access pathogen genome repository, since the May 12 checkpoint: PP_006W3U9.2 (ErasmusMC, Netherlands, sampled May 6, posted May 10), PP_006WBLH.2 (Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland, sampled May 4, posted May 11), and PP_006W6RC.2 (Institut Pasteur de Dakar operating from the Netherlands, sampled May 3, posted May 11). 16 The ANDV dataset now totals 505 entries. All three sequences are MV Hondius outbreak-derived and carry complete L, M, and S genome segments.
Reuters published a fact-check on May 13 confirming that a widely shared social media claim — that "WHO confirmed 159 cruise-linked hantavirus cases in early May 2026" — is false. WHO's confirmed count on May 7 was 5 cases. 17
May 15 watchlist
- French patient at Bichat ICU: ECMO represents the ceiling of available hemodynamic-pulmonary support; trajectory updates expected.
- US inconclusive case (Dr. Kornfeld): CDC expects retesting results within days; outcome will resolve whether the US count remains at zero confirmed or rises to one.
- Illinois domestic possible case: not linked to MV Hondius; CDC confirmatory testing may take up to 10 days.
- Oceanwide operational decision: the company expected to announce by end of this week whether MV Hondius will proceed with its May 29 Keflavik departure.
- Rotterdam arrival: MV Hondius ETA May 17–18; RIVM disinfection protocol and crew testing results to follow.
- Argentina scientific investigation: field team findings on potential rodent exposure sites linked to the Dutch couple's itinerary.
- Korea KDCA HFRS data: access errors persist on KDCA's press-release infrastructure; current-year hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome surveillance counts remain unavailable through open channels.
Briefing covers 2026-05-13 00:51 UTC+8 → 2026-05-14 00:00 UTC+8. Previous edition: Hantavirus Global Situational Briefing — May 13, 2026. Next scheduled publication: May 15, 2026.
Cover image: WHO epidemic curve for Andes hantavirus MV Hondius cluster, published in WHO DON-601, 13 May 2026. Image from WHO Disease Outbreak News.
References
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- 12Argentina Ministerio de Salud: Epidemiología
argentina.gob.ar
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- 15PAHO: Hantavirus topic page
paho.org
- 16Pathoplexus: ANDV sequence database
pathoplexus.org
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