On May 11th of 2026,the last remaining passengers on a cruise ship(MV Honduis) were hit by a deadly and contagious virus which has now been named the hantavirus by officials. The outbreak disembarked Monday

and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to quarantine the passengers. A French woman who was allegedly on the cruise ship during the outbreak was the last to be recorded as infected, while an American was also suspected of being infected shortly after the initial testing.

Passengers began flying home aboard military and government planes on Sunday after the cruise ship anchored in the Spanish Canary Islands.

Officials stated that full-body gear was highly suggested and worn during the transfer, as well as breathing masks.“If they stayed longer on the ship, the situation could have been difficult,”said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (Funk and Corder May 11,2026).

He also included that citizens of the countries passengers are returning to should know,”there is nothing to fear,the risk is low,this is not another case of COVID”(Funk and Corder May 11,2026).

According to officials in WHO, three cruise ship passengers have been reported dead,and six people who were confirmed suspects of hantavirus are quarantined. The lab results of the American who was being suspected of having the hantavirus testing positive, were inconclusive, WHO spokesperson Sarah Tyler said Monday.

Health authorities stated that this “outbreak” was the very first hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. While there isn’t any specific vaccine for the hantavirus yet, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates.

“I remember that hurting bad to the point where I was just having to throw up because it hurt so bad”(Kindelan May 12,2026).

A woman who survived the hantavirus in an outbreak decades ago. Shaina Montiel, 38, said she contracted hantavirus, a virus that can cause extremely dangerous illness and even death, in 1993, when she was just 5-years-old.”I remember that hurting bad to the point where I was just having to throw up because it hurt so bad”(Kindelan May 12,2026).

At least 18 people had caught the hantavirus during the outbreak, and more than a dozen people died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.