Spain confirms 11 hantavirus cases from cruise ship outbreak
A new patient tested positive while in Madrid quarantine; three people have died, and the ship is returning to the Netherlands for cleaning.
By Kelly D. Cunningham
12 May, 2026
Spain's health ministry announced a new hantavirus case on Tuesday. A passenger evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius tested positive while in quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid.
The World Health Organization confirmed 11 cases total from the outbreak. All are passengers or crew from the MV Hondius cruise ship. Three people have died. Nine of the 11 confirmed cases are the Andes virus, a type of hantavirus.
Thirteen other Spanish nationals evacuated from the ship on Sunday tested negative for the virus. They remain in the same military hospital in Madrid while quarantined.
The cruise ship has finished evacuating all passengers and most crew members. The MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected before returning to service.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization director-general, said: "These numbers have changed little over the past week thanks to the governments of multiple countries and partners." Ghebreyesus was in Madrid on Tuesday to brief the media alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Reporting incorporates material from a third-party source. Original
