Australian health authorities have announced plans to quarantine six passengers evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius following a multi country hantavirus outbreak that has already resulted in three deaths and multiple confirmed infections.

The six passengers  including four Australian citizens, one Australian permanent resident, and one New Zealand national  are expected to be transported from Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands to Western Australia, where they will undergo mandatory quarantine for at least 21 days at the Bullsbrook quarantine facility near Perth.

According to the WHO, the outbreak aboard the Dutch flagged expedition cruise ship has been linked to Andes hantavirus, the only hantavirus strain known to allow limited human to human transmission through prolonged close contact.

WHO confirmed that, as of May 8, a total of eight cases had been identified, including six laboratory-confirmed infections and three deaths, resulting in an estimated case fatality rate of 38%.
The outbreak began after passengers onboard the MV Hondius developed severe respiratory symptoms during the expedition voyage. The ship reportedly carried 147 passengers and crew, with travelers from more than 20 countries onboard.

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler stated that the country is implementing a stronger precautionary response due to the virus’s incubation period, which can extend up to 42 days. Authorities also confirmed that hantavirus will temporarily be listed under Australia’s biosecurity legislation to support mandatory quarantine enforcement.

The Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) emphasized that the overall public health risk remains low and noted that no human cases of hantavirus have previously been reported in Australia.

Hantaviruses are primarily transmitted through exposure to infected rodents, their urine, droppings, or saliva. Symptoms may include fever, muscle pain, respiratory distress, and, in severe cases, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which can become life threatening.

Global health authorities, including WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), continue to monitor the outbreak while coordinating international passenger tracing, medical evacuations, and containment measures across multiple countries.