France and the US confirm cases of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius

Published at: 11/05/2026 09:04 AM

Health authorities in France and the United States (USA) have confirmed the detection of positive cases of hantavirus among tourists repatriated from the cruise ship MV Hondius, after their arrival in Tenerife. The Minister of Health, Stéphanie Rist, reported that a national citizen is hospitalized after being decompensated, while five other travelers remain in quarantine in Paris.

For its part, the U.S. Department of Health reported that a citizen who was part of the returnee group also showed a mild positive result in diagnostic tests.

The concern of medical bodies is that the Andes strain has been identified, a variant of the virus characterized by its ability to be transmitted from person to person. Faced with this scenario, the authorities in France have identified about twenty close contacts who coincided on flights from South Africa and the Netherlands, requesting their immediate isolation to contain the spread.

It is estimated that the incubation period of this disease may extend up to six weeks, requiring strict epidemiological surveillance.

Despite the confirmation of these infections and the hospitalization protocols of at least fifteen days activated in Europe, the World Health Organization has issued a message of calm, stating that the epidemic risk on a large scale is low.

However, tracking mechanisms are being reinforced for passengers who were on board the ship or on connecting flights, urging anyone with symptoms or who has been in contact with those affected to contact health institutions.

The outbreak has generated a coordinated response at the international level to ensure that the occupants of the vessel who returned to their countries of origin are properly monitored. While the disinfection and control processes are being completed, health services remain alert to the appearance of new suspicious cases resulting from this tourist route.

The current priority focuses on the clinical follow-up of confirmed patients and on ensuring that quarantine measures prevent the Andes strain from spreading outside the circles already identified.

Mazo News Team