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The Trump administration ended NIH funding in 2025 for a pilot project studying hantavirus transmission, work that scientists say could have informed response to an ongoing cruise ship outbreak. The outbreak, linked to the Andes virus, has reportedly killed three people and sickened others; passengers disembarked before the first suspected case, prompting monitoring in five U.S. states. The research was run through the West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID), part of the 1
HantaWatch, a real-time tracker, reports an Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the expedition ship MV Hondius, updated May 8, 2026. The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1; initial onboard cases with fever and respiratory symptoms were reported May 1, with lab confirmations identifying Andes virus by May 3. Early disembarkations began May 5, prompting international case monitoring. On May 8, UK authorities confirmed a third suspected case tied to the ship, and a flight attendant hospitalized in Amsterdam is awaiting test results after briefly boarding a Johannesburg–Amsterdam flight (reported May 7). WHO says 40+ disembarked passengers are being traced across 23 countries and assesses global risk as low. Evacuation and screening in Tenerife are scheduled for May 11.
A hantavirus outbreak has been reported aboard the Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship MV Hondius off West Africa, with eight cases and three deaths, according to the article. The ship departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and is carrying 147 passengers and crew; those still onboard are reportedly asymptomatic and have been told to isolate in their cabins. As of May 6, the vessel began a three- to four-day voyage from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities have agreed to assist. The World Health Organization has convened experts to develop a step-by-step procedure for safe disembarkation. Separately, authorities are tracing and monitoring 30 former passengers who left the ship on St. Helena on April 24, after a first onboard death on April 11.
A cruise aboard the MV Hondius turned into a public-health emergency when at least eight passengers fell ill with suspected or confirmed hantavirus — three of whom have died — and WHO identified the pathogen as Andes virus, which can transmit person-to-person in close, prolonged contact. Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, a passenger and medical oncologist, stepped in to provide care as the ship, carrying roughly 150 people, visited remote South Atlantic islands. Initial deaths seemed isolated until several linked cases emerged, prompting evacuations and alarms about onboard transmission. The episode highlights risks of contagious pathogens on cruise ships, the challenges of medical response at sea, and implications for outbreak containment and passenger safety protocols.
The World Health Organization says a rare hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship has caused eight confirmed cases and three deaths, but experts argue it is unlikely to become a global crisis because the virus does not spread easily through casual contact. WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove stressed on May 7, 2026 that hantavirus transmission differs from Covid-19 and influenza. The strain involved, Andes virus, can spread person-to-person, yet typically requires close contact and is less likely to spread from asymptomatic people. Health officials are tracing contacts of 29 passengers who disembarked on St. Helena on April 24; a Swiss passenger tested positive, and two people in the UK reportedly self-isolated. The US CDC said it is monitoring US travelers.
Medical oncologist and avid birder Stephen Kornfeld said he became the de facto physician aboard the MV Hondius after multiple passengers and crew fell ill with suspected or confirmed hantavirus during an early April cruise departing Argentina. At least eight cases have been reported since departure and three people have died, including a 70-year-old Dutch passenger who died April 11, his wife about two weeks later after evacuation, and a German woman who died May 2. The World Health Organization confirmed the virus as Andes virus, a hantavirus that can sometimes spread person-to-person with close, prolonged contact. Two crew members, including the ship’s doctor, became sick, leaving Kornfeld to assist from May 1 with limited onboard medical supplies beyond routine medications and oxygen.
The Trump administration ended NIH funding in 2025 for a pilot project studying hantavirus transmission, work that scientists say could have informed response to an ongoing cruise ship outbreak. The outbreak, linked to the Andes virus, has reportedly killed three people and sickened others; passengers disembarked before the first suspected case, prompting monitoring in five U.S. states. The research was run through the West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID), part of the 10-center CREID network that NIH shuttered after deeming the work “unsafe.” WAC-EID had received U.S. grants from 2021 totaling $521,027 to $1,702,711 per award; about $100,000 was expected for an Argentina study. Grant Witness records show nearly $2.4 million of $8.3 million allocated to WAC-EID remained undistributed when funding was cut.