Hantavirus, in an unusual place.
Hantavirus normally spreads from rodents to people — never between humans. On 1 April 2026, an expedition cruise (MV Hondius) left Argentina with 147 people aboard. Three have since died and four are sick. Lab tests confirmed the rare Andes strain, the only hantavirus known to occasionally pass between people in close contact. WHO assesses global public-health risk as LOW.
These figures cover the currently unfolding Andes cruise-ship cluster (WHO DON599) plus the most recent CDC NNDSS Weekly publication for the United States. Endemic surveillance counts are reported separately in TERMINAL #003 as annual baselines.
Hantavirus normally spreads from rodents to people — never between humans. The Andes strain is the documented exception.
Click any country pin.
Live outbreak pins, country-level activity halos, cruise-route arcs, and recent-news signals from 10 RSS / API feeds. Click a pin to open the country detail — local mentions, import mentions, deaths referenced, mention period, and every cited source. Officer Hanta narrates context as you explore.
- Wavefront propagation in a hyperbolic model of hantavirus infectionMathematics and Computers in Simulation
- Could bradykinin pathway inhibition change the course of severe hantavirus disease?Immunology Letters
- Outbreak at Sea: The MV Hondius Hantavirus Cluster as a Sentinel for Global Pandemic ReadinessInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Microbe snapshots: Hantavirus (Sin Nombre)Clinical Microbiology Newsletter
- Hantavirus on the rise: clinical, virological, immunological, and public health perspectivesCurrent Opinion in Immunology
- Pregnancy and hantavirus infection: maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes − a systematic reviewEuropean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
- Emerging threat of hantavirus infection: Public health challenges during an international cruise ship outbreakClinical Infection in Practice
- “Hantavirus at sea: Why cruise ships must be ready for animal-borne disease.”New Microbes and New Infections
- When rare zoonoses travel: Andes virus, hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, and the preparedness gapInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Andes virus, hantavirus infections, and the unresolved question of transfusion transmissionTransfusion and Apheresis Science
- Hanta on the Hondius - public health and bioethical perspectives of the recent Andes hantavirus cruise ship outbreakNew Microbes and New Infections
- Spatiotemporal correlation analysis between climate change and hantavirus outbreak in Argentina: Quantitative causal inference based on Google Earth Engine and Bayesian spatiotemporal regressionJournal of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
- Hantavirus Infections—Clinical Recognition and Diagnostic ChallengesThe Lancet Regional Health - Europe
- From Ebola to Hantavirus: Spain’s Preparedness for High-Consequence Infectious DiseasesThe Lancet Regional Health - Europe
- The MV Hondius Warning: Hantavirus Surveillance Blind SpotsThe Lancet Regional Health - Europe
- Beyond the cruise ship: Andes hantavirus and the neglected one health dimensions of global outbreak preparednessThe Lancet Regional Health - Americas
- Estimating the Potential Burden of Clinically Significant Hantavirus Cases in ArgentinaThe Lancet Regional Health - Europe
- Three Decades of Hantavirus Management in Chile: Lessons for EuropeThe Lancet Regional Health - Europe
- Family Medicine Preparedness for Hantavirus Infection: A Comprehensive Review of Early Recognition, Prevention, Outpatient Triage, and Referral PathwaysWorld Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Navigating Hantavirus Risk in Transplantation: Implications for Clinical PracticeTransplantation
- Health concludes management of hantavirus outbreak after finishing follow-ups with negative resultsDemócrata
- The 38 Filipino crew members of the MV Hondius have returned to the Philippines after completing a 42-day quarantine in the Netherlands, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Saturday.LinkedIn
- 38 Filipino crew iti MV Hondius, natalged a nakaawid iti Pilipinas kalpasan a nakompletoda quarantine idiay The NetherlandBombo Radyo Vigan
- ‘It’s not science, it’s coercion’: health experts decry RFK Jr order on hantavirus quarantineThe Guardian
- 38 Filipino crew members of MV Hondius return home after quarantineSunStar Publishing Inc.
- How Andes virus broke the rulesfelixonline.co.uk
- 38 Pinoys from hantavirus-hit MV Hondius return home after 42-day quarantine in Netherlands — DMWdzrh.com.ph
- 38 Filipino MV Hondius crew members return home after quarantine in NetherlandsThe Filipino Times
- Column: Oh rats! It’s the hantavirus…The Republic News
- 38 Filipinos from hantavirus-hit MV Hondius back in PHGMA Network
- How Hantavirus Spreads and How to Protect PatientsPharmacy Times
- Almost all the passengers and crew of the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak who had to quarantine in the Netherlands are now allowed to return home, the WHO chief said. I via ANC 24/7 Link of full story in the comment section.facebook.com
- The real reason a hantavirus disaster was averted | LettersThe Guardian
- 2 more cruise ship passengers leave Omaha quarantine after deadly hantavirus outbreakNebraska Public Media
- “I was not afraid of the Hantavirus,” Greek Passenger Says after Cruise Ordealtovima.com
- Hantavirus Scare Over? What We Know As Last Cruise Ship Passengers Leave QuarantineNews18
- Hantavirus update: 2 more leave National Quarantine Unit in OmahaWOWT
- Quarantine over for almost all hantavirus ship passengers and crewThe Journal
- Quarantine over for almost all hantavirus ship passengers, crewFrance 24
- 2 more cruise ship passengers leave Omaha quarantine after deadly hantavirus outbreakNebraska Examiner
- U.S. Health Secretary Keeps American Hantavirus Cruise Passenger “Illegally” Caged As 42-Day Deadline ApproachesTheTravel
- Two more hantavirus-risk cruise passengers leave Omaha quarantine - Omaha World-HeraldGoogle News
- Two more former MV Hondius passengers released after five weeksCentral Nebraska Today
- Andes Virus Outbreak on a Cruise Ship: Current Situation | HantavirusCenters for Disease Control and Prevention | CDC (.gov)
- Hantavirus ship passenger recounts 'huge shock' as quarantine nears endAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
- Florida native forced to stay in Omaha during hantavirus quarantineKETV
- RFK Jr. orders hantavirus patient to remain in quarantineYahoo
- RFK Jr. orders hantavirus cruise ship passenger to stay in quarantineLiveNOW from FOX
- VIDEO: RFK orders cruise ship passenger exposed to hantavirus to remain in quarantineKIRO 7 News Seattle
- Woman exposed to hantavirus wants to go home. RFK Jr. ordered her quarantined against her will - Straight Arrow News - SANUnbiased. Straight Facts.
What mainstream news is missing.
Every 30 minutes Officer Hanta sweeps clinical-trial registries, preprint servers, GenBank, ProMED, and credentialled virologists on X for verifiable, non-obvious hantavirus signals and posts them to its public terminal. You can read; you can't prompt.
Annual surveillance baseline · by country
Hantaviruses are endemic in many countries. The figures below are the most recent published surveillance baselines from each national / regional authority — they are not current weekly counts. Click any source to verify upstream.
| Country / region | Strain | Annual cases (baseline) | Annual deaths | Provenance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Shaanxi / Heilongjiang / Yunnan | Hantaan / Seoul | 11,000 | 110 | Annual pattern | China CDC ↗ |
| Russian Federation Russia · Volga / Bashkortostan | Puumala / Dobrava | 6,000 | 24 | Annual pattern | Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federation) ↗ |
| Finland boreal forest belt | Puumala | 1,500 | 1 | Annual pattern | Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) ↗ |
| Germany Bavaria / Baden-Württemberg | Puumala | 1,300 | 5 | Annual pattern | Robert Koch Institute (RKI) ↗ |
| South Korea Gyeonggi / Gangwon | Hantaan | 400 | 12 | Annual pattern | Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) ↗ |
| Sweden Norrland | Puumala | 350 | 1 | Annual pattern | Folkhälsomyndigheten ↗ |
| Belgium Wallonia / forest belt | Puumala | 200 | 0 | Annual pattern | Sciensano (Belgian Institute for Health) ↗ |
| Brazil agricultural belt | Juquitiba / Araraquara | 110 | 45 | Annual pattern | PAHO Epidemiological Alert (Dec 2025) ↗ |
| Slovenia Karst / Sava valley | Dobrava / Puumala | 100 | 5 | Annual pattern | Slovenian National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) ↗ |
| France Ardennes / Franche-Comté | Puumala | 90 | 0 | Annual pattern | Santé publique France ↗ |
| Argentina Patagonia (Andes-virus zone) | Andes | 70 | 22 | Annual pattern | PAHO Epidemiological Alert (Dec 2025) ↗ |
| Chile Aysén / Los Lagos | Andes | 65 | 22 | Annual pattern | PAHO Epidemiological Alert (Dec 2025) ↗ |
| Panama Los Santos peninsula | Choclo | 40 | 4 | Annual pattern | PAHO Epidemiological Alert (Dec 2025) ↗ |
| Paraguay Chaco | Laguna Negra | 25 | 8 | Annual pattern | PAHO Epidemiological Alert (Dec 2025) ↗ |
| Uruguay agricultural belt | Andes / Lechiguanas | 12 | 4 | Annual pattern | PAHO Epidemiological Alert (Dec 2025) ↗ |
| Canada western prairies | Sin Nombre | 4 | 1 | Annual pattern | Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) ↗ |
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Common questions
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What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus is a group of RNA viruses carried by rodents that can cause two human syndromes: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia. Most infections occur via inhalation of aerosolized rodent excreta.
Is hantavirus contagious between people?
Most hantavirus strains are not transmitted person-to-person. The Andes virus, found in South America, is the only strain with documented human-to-human transmission, and only during close prolonged contact.
What are the early symptoms of hantavirus?
Early symptoms appear 1–8 weeks after exposure and include fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, nausea, and abdominal pain. Respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath) develop later in HPS; kidney symptoms develop later in HFRS.
How fatal is hantavirus?
Case fatality varies by strain: up to 35–40% for Andes and Sin Nombre virus (HPS), about 5–12% for Hantaan and Dobrava (severe HFRS), and below 1% for Puumala (mild HFRS).
Is there a vaccine for hantavirus?
There is no vaccine licensed in the United States, Europe, or most of the Americas. China and South Korea use bivalent inactivated vaccines against Hantaan and Seoul viruses with high coverage in endemic provinces.
What is the MV Hondius outbreak?
The MV Hondius is an expedition cruise that departed Ushuaia, Argentina on 1 April 2026 with 147 people aboard. By early May 2026 the ship reported 7 cases and 3 deaths from confirmed Andes hantavirus, with 5 of 7 samples PCR-positive at Geneva University.