Health authorities are monitoring a widening hantavirus alert after new suspected cases emerged in Spain and on a remote South Atlantic island, days after an outbreak on a cruise ship left three people dead and several others infected.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Friday (9 May) that six of eight suspected cases linked to the Dutch-flagged cruise vessel MV Hondius have tested positive for hantavirus, a rare rodent-borne disease that can be fatal and, in limited circumstances, spread between humans.
Officials said they are now investigating additional suspected infections outside the ship’s direct passenger group, raising concerns about possible secondary transmission linked to international travel.
Health authorities in Spain’s Alicante region are testing a 32-year-old woman who developed symptoms consistent with hantavirus infection after briefly sitting on a flight near a passenger connected to the cruise outbreak.
In a separate case, the UK Health Security Agency said a British man on Tristan da Cunha (one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands) is also suspected of infection after possible exposure linked to the same voyage.
The cases are not yet included in the WHO’s official outbreak count but are being actively investigated by national health agencies.
The outbreak began aboard MV Hondius, which was carrying 147 passengers and crew when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was first reported during its voyage through Antarctica and the Atlantic.
Three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, have died. Four patients remain hospitalised in the Netherlands, South Africa and Switzerland.
World Health Organization said laboratory analysis indicates the outbreak involves the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission through prolonged close contact.
Despite concern over new suspected cases, WHO officials said the risk to the general public remains low.
Technical officer Anais Legand said transmission patterns so far do not suggest sustained community spread, noting that infections have largely been confined to close contacts of confirmed cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has activated a “level 3” emergency response, indicating a moderate outbreak requiring enhanced coordination but not a global emergency.
The cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said no symptomatic passengers remain on board as the ship heads to Tenerife, where health screenings will be conducted before disembarkation.
United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 17 U.S. citizens were aboard and that returning passengers will be flown to Omaha for quarantine at the University of Nebraska under medical supervision.
Health authorities across multiple countries are continuing contact tracing for passengers who disembarked earlier in the voyage, as the investigation into possible secondary transmission continues.
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Efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war appeared to stall as the two sides exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz. A reported CIA assessment suggested Tehran could withstand a U.S. naval blockade for months despite mounting sanctions and renewed Gulf attacks.
The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified files on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) on Friday (8 May), following an order from President Donald Trump. U.S. officials described as a push for “unprecedented transparency”.
Russia is holding a significantly scaled-back Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May 2026, reflecting heightened security concerns and the ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
The U.S. military said on 8 May that it struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people and leaving one survivor, in the latest in a series of controversial maritime operations targeting suspected drug trafficking routes.
The U.S military said it carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran on Thursday (7 May). Meanwhile, Iran's Joint Military Command accused the U.S. of breaching the ceasefire, by striking an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and launching attacks on several Iranian cities.
The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz, though both sides signalled they did not want escalation. The clashes come as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a proposed deal to end the war while leaving key disputes, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now.
Singapore has isolated and is testing two of its residents who travelled aboard a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak, the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Thursday.
Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian Karakurt-class small missile carrier in the Caspian Sea near Russia’s Dagestan region on Thursday. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, according to Kyiv.
Countries worldwide sought to prevent the further spread of the hantavirus on Thursday, after an outbreak on a cruise ship, by tracking those who had disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone who had close contact with them since.
The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified files on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) on Friday (8 May), following an order from President Donald Trump. U.S. officials described as a push for “unprecedented transparency”.
Russia is holding a significantly scaled-back Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May 2026, reflecting heightened security concerns and the ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
The U.S. military said on 8 May that it struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people and leaving one survivor, in the latest in a series of controversial maritime operations targeting suspected drug trafficking routes.
Libya’s largest operating oil refinery has been shut down and an emergency declared after clashes erupted near the facility in Zawiya, west of Tripoli, according to two engineers and the refinery’s operator.
Indonesian rescue teams are searching for 20 hikers trapped on Mount Dukono after a major volcanic eruption sent ash 10 kilometres into the sky on Friday.
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