WHO Declares Hantavirus Outbreak on MV Hondiu Over

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on May 25 that the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondiu has officially ended. The last person in quarantine tested negative and has returned home.

The outbreak, which began on April 1 while the ship was traveling from Ushuaia, Argentina, to remote islands in the South Atlantic, resulted in 12 confirmed or probable cases and three deaths. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that there have been no further cases reported since the last contact person was quarantined.

The ship docked in Rotterdam on May 18 and was cleared to return to sea after cleaning and disinfection. The outbreak strain of hantavirus is known to jump from rodents to humans, and while the outbreak is no longer considered a public health risk, hantavirus remains a public health threat in endemic areas of South America.

Ongoing studies involving 21 countries aim to better understand the virus and support the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.