- WHO confirmed 5 cases linked to the cruise ship.
Israeli health officials confirmed the first case of Hantavirus in the country on Thursday (May 7, 2026). In fact, this virus spread by rats has been confirmed in a person who recently returned from a trip to Eastern Europe. However, officials have also said that this case is different from the more dangerous Andes strain that recently spread on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Health officials clarified that the European strain of Hantavirus has been found in the infected patient in Israel, which spreads mainly through contact with feces, urine or saliva of rats. Whereas in this strain the possibility of spreading infection from person to person is considered very low.
Hantavirus infection confirmed in PCR test
According to Israeli media reports, the patient’s condition is currently stable and he has been kept under the observation of doctors. The matter of relief in this case was that the patient neither needed to be admitted to the ICU nor was he kept in strict isolation.
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It was told that the initial antibody test showed signs of infection, after which a PCR test was done, which confirmed the infection with Hantavirus. Information about this matter has been formally given to the Israeli Health Ministry and health officials are constantly monitoring the situation.
What did WHO say about the virus?
According to CNN report, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday (May 7, 2026) that five cases of Hantavirus infection have been confirmed among people associated with the cruise ship MV Hondius. Health agencies of many countries are busy preventing this infection and locating the infected people. So far, three people have died on this ship that left Argentina last month and the dead include a Dutch couple and a German citizen.
According to South Africa’s health department, the first suspected case was a 70-year-old Dutch national who suddenly suffered from fever, headache, stomach pain and diarrhea on board the ship. He died on the ship itself on April 11 last month.