CALIFORNIA — May 7, 2026

California health officials confirmed the state is currently under monitoring following a Hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, which has left at least three people dead and several others ill.

According to reports, three passengers including:

  • a Dutch couple,

  • and a German citizen,
    died after contracting the virus during an expedition organized by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions.

At least eight others have also shown symptoms of the disease.

Officials stated that over two dozen passengers left the ship before full medical contact tracing could be completed, prompting multiple countries to urgently locate and monitor those who were on board.

California health authorities confirmed that residents of the state were on this voyage and are currently being monitored as a precaution.

To date:

  • no individuals in California have tested positive,

  • nor have any symptomatic cases been recorded,
    but passengers continue to be monitored.

Investigators suspect the outbreak may have originated before the cruise departed.

Argentine officials are currently focusing their investigation on the southern part of the country, where the Dutch couple is believed to have contracted the virus during a bird-watching trip before boarding the ship.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of widespread community transmission remains low.

Hantavirus is typically spread by inhaling dust particles containing waste from infected rodents and is generally not easily transmitted from person to person.

However, health officials are paying close attention to the Andes variant in South America—a rare strain that has previously shown limited human-to-human transmission.

In the U.S., Hantavirus is quite rare but has a high mortality rate.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

  • from 1993 to 2023,

  • the U.S. recorded 890 confirmed cases,

  • with over 300 deaths,

  • and a fatality rate exceeding 34%.

The states with the highest recorded cases include:

  • New Mexico

  • Colorado

  • Arizona

  • California

  • Washington.

California specifically has recorded approximately 80–90 historical cases, with 24 fatalities.

Most cases in the state are linked to mountainous and rural areas such as the Sierra Nevada, where deer mice carry the Sin Nombre virus—the most common variant in the U.S., which has no recorded instances of human-to-human transmission.

Officials stated there is currently no evidence of widespread transmission related to the cruise ship outbreak, but international contact tracing efforts are ongoing.