Hantavirus outbreak: AZ resident who was on cruise ship being monitored by health department
A general view of the cruise ship MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
PHOENIX - Health officials are monitoring an Arizona resident who was on board the cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak.
What they're saying:
The Arizona Department of Health Services says the Arizona resident was a passenger on the MV Hondius and has not shown any signs of the illness.
"This individual is not symptomatic and is being monitored by public health," the department said.
Two other U.S. passengers are also reportedly being monitored. Roughly 150 passengers and crew remain isolated on the cruise ship. Health officials say no one currently on board is showing symptoms of the hantavirus.
The backstory:
The World Health Organization says three people have died, and many others have been sickened as a result of the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship.
On May 6, three infected patients were evacuated from the cruise ship. They were transported to the Netherlands for medical treatment.
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Three patients were evacuated to Europe Wednesday from the cruise ship experiencing a rare hantavirus outbreak.
The MV Hondius ship left Argentina on April 1 for a weekslong cruise that included scheduled stops in Antarctica and several South Atlantic islands.
According to the Associated Press, the leading theory of the outbreak is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching tour in the city of Ushuaia before boarding the cruise ship.
Dig deeper:
The type of virus in the outbreak has been confirmed as Andes hantavirus by several health officials treating patients in various countries, WHO said.
The Andes virus, a specific species of hantavirus, is found in South America, primarily in Argentina and Chile, WHO said. It can be spread between people, though this is rare and only through close contact such as by sharing a bed or food, experts say.
Symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure, officials have said.
Hantavirus is 'not the next COVID,' experts say: What to know
As health authorities work to contain the spread of a rare hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship, experts say it's not something most people should worry about.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from a statement by the Arizona Department of Health Services, the World Health Organization, reports from the Associated Press and The New York Times and previous FOX 10 reports.