Deadly Cruise Ship Outbreak Spreads to Europe As Two Individuals On Land Test Positive

The deadly outbreak of a rare virus that began on a Dutch cruise ship that set sail from from Argentina is now in Europe.

Switzerland has confirmed that a passenger who just got back from the infected MV Hondius ship has tested positive for hantavirus.

He is currently hospitalized in Zurich.

Here are the details:

🚨🇨🇭 BREAKING: The Swiss government confirms an MV Hondius passenger who returned to Switzerland was infected with hantavirus and is being treated in Zurich.

Swiss officials say there is no danger to the broader population.

This particular outbreak has been confirmed as the… https://t.co/K8BsqVDSQ9 pic.twitter.com/t0m98mAgQO

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 6, 2026

BREAKING: The Swiss government confirms an MV Hondius passenger who returned to Switzerland was infected with hantavirus and is being treated in Zurich.

Swiss officials say there is no danger to the broader population.

This particular outbreak has been confirmed as the Andes strain, the only one known to spread between humans.

3 are dead and 1 remains in intensive care after the ship left Argentina on April 1 with 147 on board.

At this time, the Swiss government is assuring the public that they are not at risk.

But, their words of assurance aren’t doing much to quell fears of this virus spreading.

Normally, humans can only contract hantavirus through contact with rodent droppings.

But, experts have identified this case of the virus as a rare strain called the Andes hantavirus, which spreads through human-to-human transmission and has up to a 40% fatality rate.

As if that weren’t scary enough, it can take up to 8 weeks after getting the virus to show any symptoms.

So, we really don’t know how far it may have spread already.

Even worse, a man in France who was never on the cruise ship where the outbreak began has also tested positive for hantavirus.

Newsweek confirmed:

A French person who had not set foot on the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius has fallen ill with the infection after taking a flight with a passenger, it was reported Wednesday.

The latest patient, reported by The Sun newspaper, joins a list of other Europeans being treated for the deadly virus which has world health officials working quickly to contact trace anyone else who may have been affected, including a group in South Africa.

Investigators were working with a leading theory Wednesday that a couple on the cruise ship contracted hantavirus while birdwatching in Argentina, before the ship headed for Europe.

CBS News dove deeper in this clip:

Hantavirus cases linked to the cruise ship M/V Hondius are growing as officials say the virus jumped from person to person.

As CBS News' @RamyInocencio reports, a new case involving a French man who was not on that 35-day luxury cruise is raising concerns that hundreds in the… pic.twitter.com/O6jEsO8Nme

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 6, 2026

Hantavirus cases linked to the cruise ship M/V Hondius are growing as officials say the virus jumped from person to person.

As CBS News’ @RamyInocencio
reports, a new case involving a French man who was not on that 35-day luxury cruise is raising concerns that hundreds in the air and on the ground may have also been exposed. Contact tracing has begun.

The WHO is now working to trace contact of the rare virus and hopefully prevent it from spreading further.

People has more:

A new case of hantavirus, a rare, flu-like virus linked to rodent droppings, has popped up in Switzerland, linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in an update on Wednesday, May 6, that Swiss authorities confirmed a case of hantavirus in a passenger from the cruise ship.

The case was found after a man, who was not identified, responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the outbreak, according to the WHO. He went to the hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, where doctors identified the virus, and he is receiving care, the international agency said.

The WHO said it is working with relevant international authorities to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus and to prevent further spread of the disease.

The international health agency also noted that the strain of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship is the Andes hantavirus, which originates in South America, and can be transmitted person-to-person, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of May 6, there are 8 suspected cases linked to the vessel, 3 of which were confirmed as hantavirus by laboratory testing, according to the WHO.

As we previously reported, three people on the cruise ship have sadly died from the hantavirus.

Today, three passengers were evacuated from the ship, but over one-hundred are still stuck onboard.

This photo of one of the passengers being evacuated is going viral online:

SHOCK IMAGE: A suspected hantavirus patient is photographed being evacuated from the stricken MV Hondius cruise ship in full head-to-toe protective gear on a gurney.

Three people — including two who are seriously ill — were removed from the ship, which is anchored off Cape… pic.twitter.com/ZC9d7RoF6t

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) May 6, 2026

SHOCK IMAGE: A suspected hantavirus patient is photographed being evacuated from the stricken MV Hondius cruise ship in full head-to-toe protective gear on a gurney.

Three people — including two who are seriously ill — were removed from the ship, which is anchored off Cape Verde, so they can receive medical care in the Netherlands amid the deadly outbreak, according to the World Health Organization.

Hantavirus is a rare but potentially fatal virus that typically spreads to humans through contact with infected rodents, especially through their urine, droppings, or saliva.

Human-to-human transmission is considered extremely uncommon and has only been documented in limited strains of the virus, making reports of possible person-to-person spread especially alarming and unusual.

The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Canary Islands soon, where a complete disinfection and investigation will take place.

NBC News reported further on the status of the cruise ship:

Three people were medically evacuated from the cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak on Wednesday as one passenger revealed everyone aboard is doing their best to limit contact with each other and follow proper safety protocols.

The World Health Organization said three passengers have died after contracting the Andes strain of the virus, which is known to be transmissible between people. The strain is found in parts of Argentina, where the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius departed.

In a Wednesday update, the WHO said that there were eight cases. Three of the cases were confirmed as hantavirus by laboratory testing, and five were suspected. No one else on the vessel was showing symptoms, the WHO said.

Despite the perilous situation on the ship, passenger and travel blogger Kasem Hato said things have “been very calm.”

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“People are taking the situation seriously but without any panic, trying to keep social distancing and wearing masks to be safe,” he said in a statement to NBC News.

He said the ship’s captain and leadership have been keeping passengers informed.

“We are not obliged to do anything, but we’re trying to follow the recommendations we received of limiting close contact with other passengers and sanitizing our hands as much as possible,” Hato said.

He also noted that people have been keeping busy by reading, watching movies and “having hot drinks.”

The Hondius has almost 150 people on board. On Wednesday, it departed the coast of Cape Verde in West Africa, where it has been since at least Monday, after authorities refused it permission to dock.

Spain’s national government in Madrid had said that the Canary Islands would accept the ship and it would begin a three-to-four-day journey. Once there, a full epidemiological investigation and disinfection will happen, the WHO said