Hantavirus-associated cluster of illness on a cruise ship: ECDC assessment and recommendations

ECDC was notified on 2 May 2026 by the Netherlands via the European Union (EU) Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) about a cluster of unknown disease with severe respiratory symptoms on a cruise ship in the South Atlantic, operating under a Dutch flag. There were 149 people on board from 23 different nationalities, including nine EU/EEA Member States: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. At the time, two people had died and one had been me