ALERT: UNOFFICIAL TRACKER — NOT AN OFFICIAL PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCE. Data is manually compiled from public sources and may be incomplete or inaccurate.
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OUTBREAK TRACKER
MV Hondius · Hantavirus Outbreak Tracker
Confirmed
Symptomatic
Asymptomatic
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MV Hondius
MV Hondius — Deck Schematic
MV Hondius — Exposure Events
Shore Stops
Tristan da Cunha
Apr 13–16 · Inaccessible & Nightingale Is.
St. Helena
Apr 21–24 · 32 guests disembarked
Repatriation Flights
🇪🇸 Arrived in Spain 🔴
2 confirmed · Spanish passenger (May 25) + Dutch crew (disembarked Spain)
🇫🇷 Arrived in France 🔴
1 CRITICALLY ILL · Artificial lung · Bichat Hospital
🇬🇧 Arrived in United Kingdom
ZT791 · Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral · 22 passengers
🇳🇱 Arrived in Netherlands 🔴
1 crew member confirmed positive · Hospitalised May 22
🇺🇸 Arrived in United States 🔴
5 went home (NY×2, AZ, CA, OR) · 13 remain at UNMC · 24/7 monitors confirmed
🇨🇦 Arrived in Canada
🔴 1 confirmed positive · Yukon passenger · May 18
🇮🇪 Arrived in Ireland
IRL290 · Baldonnel · Mater Hospital · 42 days
🇦🇺 Australia — LANDED PERTH ✅
6 passengers · TFS → NL ✅ · NL → Perth ✅ May 15 · Bullsbrook quarantine
MV Hondius
⚓ DOCKED — Port of Granadilla, Tenerife · May 10, 2026 · WHO Director-General Tedros + Spain ministers on-site
76 passengers disembarked by late afternoon local · 7 countries · US + Australia remaining · Source: Spanish Health Ministry
147 aboard · 23 nationalities · All screened asymptomatic before disembarkation
At port: hazmat suits · respirators · face masks · No luggage — small bag, phone, charger, documents only · No contact with local population
Repatriation Flights
🇪🇸 A310 "Reino de España" T.22-2 → Gómez Ulla Defense Hospital, Madrid · Departed ~13:00 · 14 Spanish nationals · Quarantine on arrival
🇫🇷 LANDED · Falcon 900EX F-HREG (ARL120E) · TFS → Paris Le Bourget (LBG) · Landed 4:27 PM · WARNING: 1 of 5 pax symptomatic in-flight
🇨🇦 DEPARTED — 4 passengers en route to Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, QC (~2 hrs outside Quebec City) · Protective gear worn boarding · WHO screened at port
🇳🇴 Norwegian air ambulance on standby at TFS · deployed in case passengers deteriorate during disembarkation · EU-owned, Norway-operated
🇳🇱 DEPARTED · 29 aboard · dark-livery narrow-body charter · Menzies Aviation ground handling · TFS
🇺🇸 Charter pending · 17 guests · Nebraska OPTIONAL per NIH Director Bhattacharya (CNN) · Low-risk passengers may return home · CDC interviewing each passenger
🇬🇧 DEPARTED · 20 passengers · TFS → UK · Hospitalization on arrival · Source: BPI News
🇦🇺 Plane arrives Monday — last flight out · also evacuating 🇳🇿 + nearby nationalities
After Disembarkation
✅ MV Hondius ARRIVED ROTTERDAM — May 18, ~10:30 CET · Captain Jan Dobrogowski + 26 crew aboard · Full disinfection underway · Body of a German man who died at sea also on board · Ship may sail again June 5
🪂 Tristan da Cunha: British paratroopers (16 Air Assault Brigade) airdropped for suspected case — pop. 221, no airstrip · RAF A400M from Brize Norton · Source: Reuters / UK MoD

Quarantine Countdown

Isolation status for all repatriated groups — updated daily

All groups arrived May 10–11, 2026 from Tenerife South Airport (TFS). Quarantine periods run from arrival date.

🇨🇦 Canada
Vancouver Island + Grey Bruce · 🔴 1 confirmed positive
🇫🇷 France
Initial 21-day quarantine ended May 31 · Extended — 1 critically ill
🇺🇸 United States 🔴
5 went home (NY×2, AZ, CA, OR) · 13 remain at UNMC · 24/7 monitors confirmed
🇪🇸 Spain 🔴
2 confirmed · 1 Spanish passenger + 1 Dutch crew (disembarked Spain)
🇳🇱 Netherlands 🔴
1 crew member CONFIRMED POSITIVE · Hospitalised May 22
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
21-day quarantine ended May 31 · Discharged to home isolation
🇮🇪 Ireland
Mater Hospital, Dublin · ✅ Monitoring
🇦🇺 Australia + NZ
Bullsbrook Centre, Perth · Extended to 42 days · Until June 23
🇨🇦 Canada
🇨🇦

Canada

Vancouver Island, BC (4) · Grey Bruce, Ontario (2)

🔴 1 Confirmed Positive
🔴 UPDATE May 18: Yukon passenger (couple in 70s) CONFIRMED POSITIVE — PHAC confirmed May 18 · Spouse tested NEGATIVE · Both in hospital in Victoria · 10th confirmed case from MV Hondius · Other 2 VI passengers and Grey Bruce couple still isolating · All had no public contact since return · PHAC: overall risk to public remains low
Day 1 of 45 Up to 45-day isolation
Charter · TFS → Bagotville, QC (3 Wing CFB, transfer) → Vancouver Island, BC · 4 passengers · PHAC officer aboard · 2-leg flight · Grey Bruce couple arrived separately
About This Tracker

EpiTrace is an unofficial real-time surveillance dashboard tracking the 2026 MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak, which has killed three cruise ship passengers and spread across multiple countries. It maps confirmed and suspected cases, transmission chains, and flight exposure risks using data compiled from WHO briefings, AP, and regional health authorities.

⚠️ This is NOT an official public health resource. Data is manually compiled from public sources and may be incomplete or inaccurate. Always verify critical information with official health authorities.

About Hantavirus (Andes Strain)
VirusAndes virus — a strain of hantavirus found in South America
TransmissionPrimarily rodent-borne (droppings, urine, saliva). Andes strain is the only hantavirus known to spread human-to-human, though rarely.
Incubation1–8 weeks
SymptomsFever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue — can progress to severe respiratory distress (Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome)
Mortality~15–35% in confirmed cases. Argentina reported nearly 1 in 3 deaths in 2025–26.
TreatmentNo specific antiviral. Supportive care in ICU. Early intervention critical.
Public riskWHO considers risk to the general public LOW. "This is not SARS-CoV-2." — Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO
MV Hondius — Voyage Summary
VesselMV Hondius — Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions
VoyageHDS2526 — Departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, 2026 bound for Antarctica
Exposure originDutch index couple believed infected during wildlife/bird-watching excursion in Ushuaia; traveled Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding
Current location⚓ Docked — Port of Granadilla, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Disembarkation underway May 10, 2026.
Deaths3 — Dutch male (Apr 11), Dutch female (Apr 26), German female (May 2)
WHO count13 cases · 3 deaths as of May 27 · All cases passengers or crew of MV Hondius · No community spread confirmed · CIDRAP, May 27
CDC (US)0 confirmed U.S. cases as of May 15 · 41 people monitored: 16 at UNMC quarantine unit (incl. Dr. Kornfeld, moved from biocontainment after subsequent negative tests) · 2 at Emory Atlanta · 7 St. Helena returnees (state monitoring) · 16 April 25 Johannesburg flight contacts · 10 states monitoring: AZ, CA, GA, KS, MD, MN, NJ, TX, VA, WA · Yahoo News / CDC, May 15
Italy 🇮🇹⚠️ 1 of 4 monitored Italians (young man, Calabria) has developed symptoms — samples transferred to Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute, Rome for analysis (May 13). The 4 were KLM flight contacts of the deceased Dutch woman. Italy Health Ministry: "maximum precaution" protocol — 42-day quarantine + daily monitoring.
WHO notifiedMay 2, 2026
WHO responseDeployed onboard expert for medical assessment; shipped 2,500 diagnostic kits from Argentina to 5-country lab network; developing disembarkation guidance under International Health Regulations
InvestigationArgentina's Malbrán Institute scientists traveling to Ushuaia to analyze rodents at local trash heap for Andes virus presence. Dutch couple visited sites where Andes-virus-carrying rats are known to be present.
Ship status🚢 ARRIVED ROTTERDAM — May 18, 2026 ~4:30am ET (10:30 CET) · Captain Jan Dobrogowski + 26 crew aboard for disinfection · Body of a German man who died at sea also on board · Full disinfection and inspection underway · May sail again as early as June 5 (Polar Cruise listed) · NBC News / Reuters, May 18
Official Voyage Timeline (Oceanwide Expeditions)
Apr 1Departed Ushuaia — 175 aboard (114 guests, 61 crew)
Apr 4–7Stop at South Georgia Island
Apr 13–16Stop at Tristan da Cunha / Inaccessible / Nightingale Islands — 6 guests embark (islanders), 1 crew disembarks → 180 aboard (120 guests, 60 crew)
Apr 17Stop at Gough Island
Apr 21–24Stop at St. Helena — 1 crew embarks, 32 guests disembark (incl. Dutch couple P002/PEDB43) → 149 aboard (88 guests, 61 crew)
Apr 272 guests medevaced via Ascension Island — symptomatic British national (P003) + American partner (PUSPAR01) → 147 aboard (86 guests, 61 crew)
May 4Original planned end of voyage at Praia, Cape Verde — ship detained
May 63 more evacuated to Netherlands. Ship departs Cape Verde 7:15pm
May 10⚓ Docked Granadilla port, Tenerife — disembarkation underway · 🇫🇷 Medical charter departs ~12:00 local TFS → Paris · 🇪🇸 Spanish Air Force A310 "Reino de España" (T.22-2) departs ~13:00 local TFS → Gómez Ulla Central Defense Hospital, Madrid · Other nationalities coordinating
MV Hondius Passenger Manifest by Nationality
🇦🇷Argentina1 guest
🇦🇺Australia4 guests
🇧🇪Belgium2 guests
🇨🇦Canada4 guests
🇫🇷France5 guests
🇩🇪Germany5 guests + 1 crew
🇬🇷Greece1 guest
🇬🇹Guatemala1 crew
🇮🇳India2 crew
🇮🇪Ireland2 guests
🇮🇹Italy1 guest
🇯🇵Japan1 guest
🇲🇪Montenegro1 crew
🇳🇱Netherlands8 guests + 5 crew
🇳🇿New Zealand1 guest
🇵🇭Philippines38 crew
🇵🇱Poland1 crew
🇵🇹Portugal1 crew
🇷🇺Russia1 crew
🇪🇸Spain13 guests + 1 crew
🇹🇷Turkey3 guests
🇬🇧United Kingdom19 guests + 3 crew
🇺🇦Ukraine5 crew
🇺🇸United States17 guests
Source: Oceanwide Expeditions via USA Today, May 8 2026. Guest count includes 4 medical staff. Germany count excludes person who died May 2.
Official Statements
David Fitter
CDC Hantavirus Response Lead · May 13
"At this moment, I want to emphasize that the risk to the general public is low. Our top priority is to the passengers that were on the ship and American communities." 100+ CDC staff working the outbreak. — CDC press conference, Statesman Journal May 13
Dr. Brendan Jackson
CDC Acting Director, High-Consequence Pathogens · May 13
"The passengers that are being monitored that were on shared flights were separate from the passengers who were on the ship at the time the outbreak was detected — they had actually left the ship before the outbreak was detected. Passengers on the ship after detection were transported directly to Nebraska." — CDC press conference, May 13
Dr. Tedros
WHO Director-General · May 24
"The situation is stable for now. We continue to remain vigilant and in close contact with all relevant governments. All passengers and crew remain in quarantine and under close monitoring to ensure they receive care if needed." — X/Twitter, May 24 · 13 total cases, 3 deaths · No community spread
Stéphanie Rist
French Health Minister · May 14
"As of today, all close contacts of a person who tested positive for hantavirus, present in France, have tested negative, without exception." 26 contacts tested 3x/week going forward. Authorities will no longer communicate results unless a positive is detected. — X/Twitter, May 14
Dr. Van Kerkhove
WHO · May 15
"I want to be unequivocal here: this is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic." — and on mutation: "What they are telling me is that they haven't identified any changes to suggest a change in the virus to make it more transmissible, more severe, anything like that." — WGN/NewsNation, May 15
Dr. Bonnie Henry
BC Provincial Health Officer · May 16
"Clearly, this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for." On the virus: "Hantavirus is a very different virus than the other respiratory viruses that we've been dealing with — like Covid, like influenza, like measles — and it remains one that we do not consider to have pandemic potential." — CBC / BBC, May 16
Dr. Mahamud
WHO Alert & Response Director
"We believe this will be a limited outbreak if the public health measures are implemented and solidarity is shown across all countries."
Tracker

Built and maintained by one person — no team, no newsroom. Data updated manually from public sources as news comes in.

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Special thank you to Benjamin Arfa for his contributions.

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