{"id":61067,"date":"2026-05-06T15:37:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/61067\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:37:47","slug":"swiss-traveler-tests-positive-for-hantavirus-after-mv-hondius-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/61067\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss traveler tests positive for hantavirus after MV Hondius cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Physician discusses deadly hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship<\/a> <\/p>\n

Dr. Zaid Fadul, a physician, discusses the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, confirming the Andes strain has a roughly 40% mortality rate. He explains its human-to-human transmission, distinct from other hantaviruses, and highlights the need for a possible eight-week quarantine due to a long latency period.<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

A Swiss man who returned from a cruise linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak<\/a> has tested positive and been isolated, as health officials say the strain involved can spread between people in rare cases \u2014 though the overall risk remains low.<\/p>\n

Health authorities in Switzerland confirmed the man recently traveled aboard the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of an outbreak that has already killed three passengers and sickened<\/a> several others.<\/p>\n

Swiss health officials said the man sought medical care after developing symptoms and was immediately placed in isolation. His wife, who traveled with him, is self-isolating but has not shown symptoms.<\/p>\n

The officials confirmed his case involves the Andes strain of hantavirus.<\/p>\n

RARE HANTAVIRUS HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION SUSPECTED ON LUXURY CRUISE SHIP WHERE 3 HAVE DIED<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MV <\/p>\n

The MV Hondius Dutch cruise ship is anchored in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde on May 5, 2026. (Arilson Almeida\/AP)<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization<\/a> said the Andes strain is a rare form of hantavirus that can spread between humans through close contact \u2014 unlike most hantavirus infections, which are typically linked to exposure to rodent droppings.<\/p>\n

South African health authorities said they also identified the Andes strain in two other passengers who were on the ship.<\/p>\n

\"Health <\/p>\n

Health workers disembark from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship off Cape Verde on May 4, 2026, after three passengers died and several others fell seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. (Qasem Elhato\/AP)<\/p>\n

The outbreak left the Dutch-flagged cruise ship stranded off the coast<\/a> of Cape Verde, with nearly 150 passengers and crew on board as authorities scramble to contain the situation.<\/p>\n

CDC REPORTS FIRST CRUISE NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK THIS YEAR, AS NEARLY 90 PEOPLE ARE INFECTED<\/a><\/p>\n

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that three suspected cases were evacuated from the vessel and are being transported to the Netherlands for treatment.<\/p>\n

“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” Tedros said.<\/p>\n

Authorities stress that while the Andes strain can spread person-to-person, transmission remains uncommon and typically requires close, prolonged contact.<\/p>\n

Health officials have launched monitoring efforts for passengers both on board and those who have already disembarked, coordinating across multiple countries as the investigation continues.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS HANTAVIRUS, THE CAUSE OF GENE HACKMAN\u2019S WIFE\u2019S DEATH?<\/a><\/p>\n

The ship departed Argentina on April 1 and was scheduled to travel through the Southern Atlantic, including stops in Antarctica, before the outbreak disrupted its itinerary.<\/p>\n

Spain<\/a> has agreed to receive the vessel in the Canary Islands, though local officials have raised concerns about potential risk to residents.<\/p>\n

\"Inside <\/p>\n

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship remains off Cape Verde on May 4, 2026, after three passengers died and several others fell seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. (Qasem Elhato\/AP)<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

Hantavirus infections are rare<\/a> but can be severe, with symptoms ranging from fever and fatigue to serious respiratory illness.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Physician discusses deadly hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship Dr. Zaid Fadul, a physician, discusses the deadly hantavirus outbreak…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[33717,1002,3805,33716,41,17,1063,33704,4293],"class_list":{"0":"post-61067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-cruises","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-infectious-disease","11":"tag-outbreaks","12":"tag-swiss","13":"tag-switzerland","14":"tag-travel","15":"tag-viruses","16":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116528378610614795","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}