{"id":330320,"date":"2026-05-06T21:02:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=330320"},"modified":"2026-05-06T21:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:32:44","slug":"hantavirus-3-evacuated-from-cruise-ship-as-latest-swiss-case-confirmed-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/hantavirus-3-evacuated-from-cruise-ship-as-latest-swiss-case-confirmed-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Hantavirus: 3 evacuated from cruise ship as latest Swiss case confirmed – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Three patients with suspected hantavirus infections were evacuated from a cruise ship and are being flown to the Netherlands on Wednesday, said Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch company that operates the cruise ship.<\/a><\/p>\n

The vessel is currently on the centre of a deadly outbreak and stays off Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board waiting to move to Spain\u2019s Canary Islands.<\/p>\n

Eight cases have been recorded, three of which have been confirmed by laboratory testing, based on the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>. Three people have died from the illness, which originates in rodents but can spread person-to-person in some cases.<\/p>\n

There isn’t a specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can increase the prospect of survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to confirm that the three individuals previously indicated as awaiting medical transfer have been successfully disembarked from\u00a0m\/v Hondius and are actually en route via medicalized aircraft to locations in a position to provide specialized care and appropriate medical screening,\u201d Oceanwide Expeditions said in a press release on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTwo of the individuals remain in a serious condition. The third, while currently asymptomatic, was closely related to the person who passed away on board on 2 May 2026. The 2 symptomatic individuals haven’t tested positive for hantavirus at the moment,\u201d the corporate added.<\/p>\n

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In partnership with the Dutch Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), Oceanwide Expeditions has expanded medical care on board with two infectious disease physicians, arriving Wednesday by plane from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ensures that optimal medical care could be provided if mandatory, through the next stage of this evolving situation,\u201d the corporate said.<\/p>\n

Currently, the planned onward destination for the ship, MV Hondius, is the Canary Islands, based on Oceanwide Expeditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOceanwide Expeditions stays in close and continual discussion with relevant authorities regarding the precise point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and a precise timeline,\u201d the corporate said, adding it’s \u201cunable to verify the main points of onward travel for guests at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis depends on medical advice and the end result of stringent screening procedures. Close cooperation continues with local and international authorities, including the WHO, the RIVM, relevant embassies, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs,\u201d they noted.<\/p>\n

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, said that the organization \u201ccontinues to work with the ship\u2019s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMonitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for individuals who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship\u2019s operators and national health authorities,\u201d Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ghebreyesus also noted that the general public health risk stays low at the moment.<\/p>\n

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Three suspected #hantavirus<\/a> case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their strategy to receive medical care within the Netherlands in coordination with @WHO<\/a>, the ship\u2019s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the UK, Spain and the Netherlands.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/olQBk6tdGk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tRecent case confirmed in Switzerland\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has confirmed that a passenger who travelled on the primary leg of the voyage, from Ushuaia to St Helena, April 1 to 24, 2026, has tested positive for hantavirus and is currently being treated on the University Hospital Zurich.<\/p>\n

\u201cOceanwide Expeditions is in touch with the relevant authorities regarding this development. All guests present on this voyage have been contacted by Oceanwide Expeditions,\u201d Ocean Expeditions said in a press release.<\/p>\n

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This brings the entire variety of confirmed hantavirus cases related to the voyage to a few.<\/p>\n

The Swiss government confirmed that one person with a hantavirus infection is currently being treated on the University Hospital Zurich (USZ).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe patient is male and returned to Switzerland after travelling on the cruise ship on which there have been plenty of hantavirus cases,\u201d the Swiss government said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cThe USZ is ready to cope with such cases, is in a position to look after the patient, and guarantee the security of staff and all patients. There’s currently no risk to the Swiss public.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Swiss government said that the person returned from a visit to South America together with his wife at the tip of April.<\/p>\n

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After the person noticed symptoms, he contacted his doctor and underwent further assessment on the University Hospital Zurich, the Swiss government said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere, he was immediately placed in isolation. A test that was carried out on the reference laboratory on the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) revealed a positive result for hantavirus. It concerns the Andes virus, a hantavirus that happens in South America,\u201d the press release notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike the European hantaviruses, that are transmitted through excretions of infected rodents, for the American hantavirus variant, person-to-person transmission has also been documented in rare cases,\u201d the Swiss government added. \u201cNevertheless, transmission only occurs through close contact. The FOPH subsequently considers the occurrence of further cases in Switzerland unlikely. The chance to the general public in Switzerland is low.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The patient\u2019s wife accompanied him on the trip but has not yet shown any symptoms and is self-isolating as a precaution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cantonal authorities are currently investigating whether the patient got here into contact with other people through the infectious period,\u201d the press release said. \u201cAppropriate safety measures are in place on the USZ for the patient\u2019s treatment. The USZ is the reference hospital for such diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Swiss government said that hantavirus fever is rare in Switzerland and, lately, there have been between 0 and 6 reported cases a 12 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf those few cases, the overwhelming majority are attributable to infections acquired abroad,\u201d the Swiss government said.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWHO confirms Andes strain of hantavirus\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the Andes strain of hantavirus, which could be transmitted from individual to individual, in passengers who were on the cruise ship, officials said Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe kind of virus on this outbreak has been confirmed as Andes hantavirus by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa and the Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland,\u201d the WHO wrote in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UN agency said that the victims can have been infected with the disease prior to boarding. It has reported eight cases of infection to date, including three confirmed as Andes hantavirus by laboratory testing,\u201d the United Nations added in a news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The South African Department of Health said in a report, viewed by The Associated Press, that the data got here from tests performed on the passengers after they were faraway from the MV Hondius and flown to South Africa.<\/p>\n

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