WHO Declares Andes Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondius Cruise Ship Over After 3 Deaths

The World Health Organization declared the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship officially over on July 2. The last person who had contact with a confirmed case finished a six-week quarantine, tested negative, and returned home. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated no new cases have been reported since May 25.

The outbreak sickened 13 people and killed three. The first death occurred on April 27 when a German national died aboard the MV Hondius. His wife died in Johannesburg on April 26 after collapsing at an airport.

Both were confirmed to have the Andes strain. A British passenger was medically evacuated to South Africa on April 27 and later confirmed to have the virus. Oceanwide Expeditions canceled two scheduled voyages of the MV Hondius and began disinfecting the ship with chlorine and peroxide upon arrival in the Netherlands.

Seventeen American citizens and one British dual national were airlifted from Tenerife in the Canary Islands on May 10. Two passengers traveled in biocontainment units during the airlift. Sixteen U.S.

Residents began isolation at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. Two U.S. residents were treated at Emory University in Atlanta. Spanish officials confirmed a passenger tested positive after evacuation and moved the patient to a high-level isolation unit in Madrid.

Fujifilm Pharmaceuticals made 1,400 tablets of experimental favipiravir available to EU member states on May 28 for case-by-case use. The Trump administration arranged a private yacht charter to evacuate a woman from Pitcairn Island after potential exposure. The MV Hondius is scheduled to resume operations with a seven-day trip around the Svalbard islands beginning June 13.