2026 Multi-country Hantavirus Cluster Linked to Cruise Ship [May 8, 2026]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of Emergency Risk Communication (OERC). Health Alert Network (HAN)
• Description:
  CDCHAN-00528: Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to inform clinicians and health departments about a new cluster of hantavirus disease cases caused by infection with Andes virus. Hantavirus disease can cause severe illness and can be fatal. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for imported cases, although the risk of broad spread to the United States is considered extremely unlikely at this time. As a precaution, this Health Advisory summarizes CDC's recommendations for U.S. public health departments, clinical laboratories, and healthcare workers about hantavirus disease case identification, testing, and biosafety considerations in clinical laboratories.
  
  Background: On May 2, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of a cluster of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) among passengers and crew of a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The cluster included two deaths and one critically ill passenger, whose laboratory tests confirmed hantavirus. On May 6, 2026, WHO confirmed that the type of hantavirus responsible for this outbreak is the Andes virus. As of May 8, 2026, WHO has reported eight cases (six confirmed and two suspected), including three deaths. Investigations are ongoing to assess exposure risk of all Americans passengers on the cruise ship or who may have been exposed to an infected cruise ship passenger on an aircraft. The cruise ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, 2026, and traveled across the South Atlantic Ocean, stopping at several remote locations, including Antarctica, South Georgia Island, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena, and Ascension Island. It carried 147 people (86 passengers and 61 crew) from 23 different countries. The extent of their contact with wildlife before or during the expedition is unknown. CDC is working with partners (federal government, state and local and international) on safely repatriating American passengers from the cruise ship to a facility in Nebraska with specialized medical capabilities. On May 7, 2026, CDC sent a team to meet the cruise ship in the Canary Islands, Spain following travel from Cape Verde. The team is prepared to assess exposure risk among U.S. passengers and determine appropriate monitoring measures. CDC is also coordinating with international partners to align public health guidance and has already issued health guidance to affected Americans via the State Department. The risk to the public's health in the United States is considered extremely low at this time. As a precaution, CDC is working to increase awareness of the outbreak among travelers, public health agencies, laboratories, and healthcare professionals nationwide
  
  
• Content Notes:
  Notice of Possible Alert Expiration: The CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, and Info Service announcements, distributed by the Health Alert Network (HAN), were active on the date they were originally published. Publication dates have been added to Titles for clarity. A CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, and Info Service announcement may expire at any time. They may also be updated or superseded according to later developments. None of the CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, or Info Service announcements in the Stacks HAN Collection should be assumed to be current or active. Stacks preserves HAN announcements in order to maintain a record of past CDC actions. Stacks in not designed for up-to-the-minute notifications. For the list of current CDC Health Alert, Advisory, Update, or Info Service announcements, patrons should visit the Health Alert Network (HAN) webpage at https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/about/index.html. For up to the minute reports, subscribe to the HAN email alert system hosted by CDC News & Updates at https://tools.cdc.gov/campaignproxyservice/subscriptions.aspx?topic_id=USCDC_486
  
  Categories of Health Alert Network (HAN) messages:
  
  Health Alert: Requires immediate action or attention, highest level of importance.
  
  Health Advisory: May not require immediate action; provides important information for a specific incident or situation.
  
  Health Update: Unlikely to require immediate action; provides updated information regarding an incident or situation.
  
  HAN Info Service: Does not require immediate action; provides general public health information.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Disaster Planning Emergencies Hantavirus Infections Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Health Communication Orthohantavirus Rodentia Ships Zoonoses
• Keywords:
  Advisories Alerts Cruise Ships HAN Hantavirus Health Alert Network MV Hondius Rodents Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) Updates
• Series:
  Health Alert Network
• Subseries:
  CDC Health Advisory
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Alert
• Place as Subject:
  United States ; Argentia ; Atlantic Ocean ; Nebraska ; Canary Islands ; Spain ; Antarctica ; South Georgia Island ; Tristan da Cunha ; Saint Helena ; Ascension Island
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• CIO:
  Office of Emergency Risk Communication (OERC)
• Division:
  HAN - Health Alert Network
• Topic:
  Emergency Preparedness ; Diseases & Conditions ; Travel Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• Issue:
  528
• Collection(s):
  Health Alert Network (HAN)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:437e3b0a7e00910160425f1af239ae3de27c5150c1446c7f34032fc5a4ce6f3fc6466a8950392fdbd6a00d51525e4e1a6f22cc1f340f45266f06b2847b07dbfc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/256299/cdc_256299_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 375.92 KB ]