Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Cruise Ship’s Hantavirus Outbreak Could Have Started On Bird-Watching Trip
Forbes Key Background The MV Hondius left Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 for the Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa, visiting some of the world’s most remote islands along the way. The ship made stops in Antarctica, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena (where the Dutch man’s body was taken from the […]
May 6, 2026
Dairy Farms May Transmit H5N1 Virus Through Multiple Sources
Morning Ag Study suggests transmission is not limited to direct contact with contaminated milk. The H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in over 700 herds of dairy cows in California, the largest dairy-producing state in the U.S. A study published May 5th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology led by Seema S. Lakdawala […]
May 6, 2026
Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina, where a stricken cruise ship began its journey
LA Times A deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship departing Argentina highlights a broader crisis: The country is experiencing a surge of the rare rodent-borne disease linked to climate change. Argentina has recorded 101 hantavirus infections since June 2025, roughly double the previous year, with the mortality rate nearly tripling to about one-third of […]
May 6, 2026
Hantavirus-hit cruise ship to head to Canary Islands as Swiss confirm new case
Washington Post More than 140 people remain on the Hondius, which will take about three days to reach the Spanish archipelago for screening. A local official has criticized the plan. Three people were evacuated Wednesday from the cruise ship facing a hantavirus outbreak in the Atlantic Ocean, as Swiss health authorities confirmed another case in […]
May 6, 2026
A Brutal First for the Cruise Industry
The Atlantic A hantavirus outbreak is serious and unnerving. Norovirus loves a cruise ship. So did the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. The crowded rooms, stuffy air, and communal dining of a giant boat filled with humans create the ideal conditions for pathogens to spread. Now hantavirus—a highly deadly rodent-borne pathogen that typically spreads when people […]
May 6, 2026
Hantavirus Cruise Ship Remains at Sea as Leaders Clash Over Its Docking
NYT Three people with possible symptoms of the disease were evacuated on Wednesday morning from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius. The passengers of the MV Hondius, in the grip of a deadly virus outbreak, are putting on movies, sanitizing their hands repeatedly and awaiting their next socially distanced meal as their ship sails the Atlantic. The […]
May 6, 2026
Hantavirus Case in Switzerland Spurs Race to Trace Contacts
WSJ Patient fell ill with strain capable of human-to-human transmission after returning from cruise ship. Swiss officials are rushing to trace the contacts of a man who has been hospitalized in Zurich with a strain of the hantavirus that is capable of human-to-human transmission. The patient became ill in Switzerland after returning from a trip […]
May 6, 2026
What happened to Covid?
STAT The threat of the virus has clearly subsided, but opinions vary on why and how much of a risk remains. In April 2020, people around the globe were struggling to come to grips with the strictures of unprecedented societal shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19. Flattening the curve, in 2020-speak. Six years later, […]
Apr 29, 2026
Bats might be the next bird flu wild card
TapInto Vampire bats in Peru show signs of past H5N1 infection. Bats have become the latest mammals susceptible to H5N1, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus responsible for bird flu. In Peru, over a dozen vampire bats have been found carrying H5N1 antibodies, indicating exposure to the virus, researchers report November 11 at bioRxiv.org. The finding […]
Apr 29, 2026
DOH detected Mpox in Oahu wastewater sample
Hawaii News Now State health officials say mpox has been detected in a wastewater sample on Oahu for the first time. The Hawaii Department of Health said the sample, collected April 13 at a treatment facility on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, tested positive for clade I mpox. Officials emphasized that no clinical cases of clade […]
Apr 29, 2026