Five of the eight suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship have now been confirmed, the World Health Organization said at a press briefing on Thursday (May 7).

The wider public health threat from the outbreak remained low, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that the WHO was aware of reports of other patients and there may be more cases due to the long incubation period of the virus.

"This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus," Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management told a press conference. "This is not the same situation we were in six years ago."

The WHO said it was also working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship, which is on the way to the Canary Islands, arrives there on Saturday (May 9) or Sunday (May 10) and the passengers disembark and travel home. None of these passengers currently have any symptoms.

The MV Hondius, carrying 150 people, will dock in Tenerife after Spain agreed to requests from the World Health Organization to receive it despite protests from the local government.

“I think everybody has the moral duty to take care of the people who are on the ship. So I hope those who have concerns at the Canary Islands will understand, and support and cooperate,” Tedros said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MAY 7, 2026) (WHO - No resale)

1. PRESS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, and the other three are suspected.”

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4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“WHO is aware of reports of other people with symptoms who may have had contact with one of the passengers. In each case, we're in close contact with the relevant authorities. Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it's possible that more cases may be reported. While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.”

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6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“A WHO expert boarded the ship in Cabo Verde and has been joined by two doctors from the Netherlands and an expert from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), who will stay on the ship until it reaches the Canary Islands. They're conducting a medical assessment of everyone on board and gathering information to assess their risk of infection. WHO is developing step-by-step operational guidance for the safe and respectful disembarkation, and onward travel of passengers and crew when they arrive.”

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8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“Prior to boarding the ship, the first two cases had travelled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay on a birdwatching trip, which included visits to sites where the species of rat that's known to carry the Andes virus was present. WHO is working with health authorities in Argentina to understand the movements of the couple.”

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10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TECHNICAL LEAD FOR VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC FEVER AT WHO, ANAIS LEGAND, SAYING:

“What is most unusual, obviously, is that we have a transmission in a boat, which I think is the first documented to date with this particular virus. As mentioned by my colleagues before, a boat makes it a very specific environment for which we want to make sure that we have a good understanding on how the transmission has happened and most importantly, to strengthen all the measures that my colleagues developed previously. There is no indication to date that there is something further unusual, but obviously, the fact that it happened in a cruise ship with people from different nationalities is something that we haven't seen before.”

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12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) DIRECTOR-GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING:

“Solidarity is the most important here, and that's what the (Spanish) Prime Minister (Pedro Sanchez) has shown. But on top of that, I think everybody has the moral duty to take care of the people who are on the ship. So, I hope those who have concerns at the Canary Islands will understand, and support and cooperate with the federal government. Of course, we understand their concerns. But as I said in my statement, based on the risk assessment that we have, the risk to the people in the Canary Islands is actually low.”

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14. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND PREVENTION AT WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, SAYING:

“We're getting reports of suspect cases or potential suspect cases. These are alerts, as we call them. Some of them have had reported links to the ship or passengers on the ship. All of those will be followed up with the relevant authorities in each country. The countries themselves, whether it's through the ministries or through the agencies in the countries, are actually assessing each person case by case, looking at what type of exposure did they have, are they developing any symptoms, if anyone is developing symptoms, to be isolated immediately, testing to take place, and providing the appropriate support.”

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16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND PREVENTION AT WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, SAYING:

“This is not coronavirus. This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hantaviruses have been around for quite a while. There's a lot of detail that we know. I'm going to ask Anais (technical lead for viral haemorrhagic fever at WHO, Anais Legand) to come in and say this, but I want to be unequivocal here. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship. There's a confined area. We have five confirmed cases so far. We completely understand why these questions are coming, and we are trying to provide all of the information that we can. That's why we're having a press conference here, to give accurate information. And we're grateful for all of those out there who are asking these types of questions. But this is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”

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18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHO'S HEAD OF DEPARTMENT FOR HEALTH EMERGENCY ALERT AND RESPONSE OPERATIONS, ABDIRAHMAN SHEIKH MAHAMUD, SAYING:

“If we follow public health measures, and the lesson we learnt from Argentina is shared across all countries, what needs to happen in contact tracing, in isolation, we can break this chain of transmission, and this doesn't need to be a large epidemic. It's in a specific, confined setting where people are interacting in prolonged close contact. So we feel it's quite familiar to the 2000 outbreak in Argentina, and we don't anticipate a large epidemic. With the experience our member states have and the actions they have taken, we believe that this will not lead to subsequent chains of transmission.”

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