Experts race to write guidance to contain first ship-borne hantavirus outbreak
Source: Reuters
May 8, 2026 9:28 AM EDT Updated 4 hours ago
LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - As the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak sails towards Tenerife, World Health Organization officials are racing to draw up step-by-step guidance for what should happen next for the nearly 150 passengers when they finally reach land on Sunday.
The hantavirus outbreak – which has killed three people among at least eight suspected or confirmed infections - is the first ever recorded on a cruise ship, so some new protocols are needed.
Half a dozen current and former WHO officials and hantavirus experts said the outbreak could be managed by adapting standard public health steps, like isolating sick passengers or those who may have been in contact with them. None of the passengers on the ship now have symptoms, the ship's operator has said.
TIPS FROM ARGENTINA
Officials are also seeking tips from Argentina, where a previous outbreak of the Andes virus, the same strain as on the ship, was snuffed out in 2019. “If we follow public health measures and the lessons we learned from Argentina ... we can break this chain of transmission. This doesn't need to be a large epidemic,” Abdi Rahman Mahamud, director of the WHO's alert and response coordination department, said.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/experts-race-write-guidance-contain-first-ship-borne-hantavirus-outbreak-2026-05-08/
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