Spain Confirms New Hantavirus Case As Cruise Outbreak Grows To 11, French Patient Remains Critical

A Spanish passenger evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius has tested positive for hantavirus , as global infections linked to the outbreak continue to rise, Spain’s health ministry confirmed on Tuesday.

The latest case emerged while the passenger was under quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid , where 13 other Spanish nationals evacuated from the ship are also being monitored. Officials said the rest of the group has tested negative so far.

The update comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the total number of cases linked to the cruise outbreak has reached 11 worldwide , including nine confirmed infections and three deaths . All cases have been traced to passengers or crew of the MV Hondius , which has now been evacuated and is returning to the Netherlands for cleaning and disinfection.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , speaking in Madrid, said the situation remains contained within the ship’s population. “At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” he said, while warning that more cases could still emerge due to the virus’s long incubation period of up to eight weeks .

The outbreak, which is the first of its kind on a cruise ship, involves the Andes strain of hantavirus , a rare variant that is usually spread through rodent droppings, urine, or saliva , but may in rare cases transmit between humans.

In Paris , a French woman infected during the voyage remains in intensive care , critically ill and receiving support through an artificial lung system after severe lung and heart complications.

Meanwhile, 12 staff members at a Dutch hospital have been placed under six-week quarantine after being exposed to infected bodily fluids during treatment of a patient linked to the outbreak. The hospital in Nijmegen said the risk of infection is low but the quarantine was taken as a precautionary measure .

The MV Hondius , operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, has completed evacuation operations involving 87 passengers and 35 crew members , who were transported in full protective gear to Tenerife before being flown to the Netherlands and other countries for quarantine.

Authorities in multiple countries, including the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand, are now monitoring all exposed passengers. The cruise ship is currently sailing back to Rotterdam, where it will undergo full sanitisation.

While there is no vaccine or specific cure for hantavirus, health experts stress that early detection and intensive care remain critical in improving survival chances as investigations continue into the origin of the outbreak.