WHO's May 13 assessment of the MV Hondius hantavirus cluster reported 11 cases, including three deaths. Eight infections were laboratory-confirmed, two were probable and one remained inconclusive. The confirmed infections involved Andes virus. These figures describe the May 13 assessment, with the inconclusive case undergoing further testing after laboratories returned different results.
The agency assessed risk as moderate for people who had been aboard the ship and low for the global population. It identified close living quarters, shared indoor spaces and prolonged exposure as important features of the shipboard setting. Its working hypothesis was that the first infection had been acquired on land before boarding, followed by transmission between people aboard.
Passengers and most crew had been repatriated from the Canary Islands on May 10 and 11. The ship left for the Netherlands with 25 crew members and two Dutch health workers aboard. National health authorities were following contacts in their own countries, while WHO coordinated information-sharing through the International Health Regulations network.
WHO's separate May 6 factsheet explains that hantaviruses usually pass to people through infected rodents or their urine, droppings and saliva. Andes virus differs from most members of the group because limited transmission between people has been documented after close, prolonged contact. The virus can cause a serious illness affecting the lungs and heart.
The factsheet identifies fever, headache, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms among early signs, with respiratory deterioration possible later. Because these symptoms overlap with other illnesses, diagnosis combines an exposure history with laboratory testing. WHO describes care as supportive, including monitoring and management of respiratory, cardiac or kidney complications, with intensive care when clinically required.
The response therefore combined two practical tasks: treating those who were ill and following people with relevant exposure after they travelled home. The distinction between probable, confirmed and inconclusive cases helped authorities share the same case picture across borders. For people connected to an outbreak, assessment by clinicians and the responsible health authority remains important; a general population risk rating does not replace individual follow-up.
