As the memories of the COVID pandemic linger for many, it’s natural for communities to feel anxious about the potential spread of hantavirus on a global scale.
“I understand your concerns,” stated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), in a letter to the people of Tenerife on May 9, 2026.
The cruise ship MV Hondius, where hantavirus had reportedly spread, had resulted in three fatalities and additional infections between April and May. It was scheduled to dock at Granadilla Port in Tenerife.
After docking, 147 individuals—both passengers and crew—would be repatriated to various countries, including Germany, France, and Australia.
“Hearing the term ‘outbreak’ while a ship approaches your shore can undoubtedly trigger unsettling memories,” Tedros mentioned.
However, there are key distinctions between COVID and hantavirus. Roman Wölfel, head of the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, highlighted, “Hantaviruses, including the Andes virus, differ significantly from coronaviruses.” He pointed out that while hantavirus can be transmitted from person to person, it requires very close contact, making it far less transmissible.
Unlike the coronavirus that emerged in 2019, which was completely unfamiliar to public health experts, hantavirus has been recognized since 1993.
Given its link to a serious lung infection known as Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), appropriate distancing protocols were enacted aboard the ship once initial tests confirmed hantavirus as the cause of the first two deaths.
Research into a hantavirus outbreak in Argentina back in November 2018 demonstrated how even basic health measures, like social distancing, effectively reduced person-to-person transmission.
In stark contrast, when COVID began, there was little clarity on its origins, and even now, the specifics remain murky.
Insights from the 2018-2019 Argentine hantavirus outbreak
A 2020 research paper detailed how the transmission rate of the Andes virus—a variant involved in the MV Hondius incident—was cut in half when public health officials instituted isolation for confirmed cases and self-quarantine for potential contacts during the 2018-2019 outbreak in Argentina.
Control measures began swiftly following the identification of 18 cases at a large gathering.
“These actions likely slowed additional infections,” the researchers noted in the New England Journal of Medicine. They observed that before controls, the median reproductive number was 2.12, but fell to 0.96 after measures were in place.
The MV Hondius situation, however, was different. While there were fewer confirmed cases—seven known and two suspected—control measures took longer to implement. Following the first death on April 11, Oceanwide Expeditions announced that it took until May 4 to confirm hantavirus as the cause. This was two days after the WHO noted a “cluster” of infections aboard.
Once the MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife, Spanish health authorities acted decisively to prevent further hantavirus transmission.
Everyone on board, including passengers and crew, used face masks and protective gear, and personal belongings were sealed in bags.
“Minimizing contact and utilizing FFP2 masks for those likely to interact with passengers during disembarkation and transport aligns with our understanding of the virus,” explained Giulia Gallo from The Pirbright Institute in the UK.
While the concern is valid, Wölfel asserts that a scenario like COVID is unlikely to unfold. “We do not anticipate the Andes virus will escalate to a global crisis like influenza or SARS coronaviruses,” he asserted.
Globally, hantavirus infections remain relatively rare. In 2025, the WHO recorded 229 cases and 59 deaths across the Americas. Notably, there is still no vaccine available for this infectious disease.
