First formal WHO notification of the cluster after South Africa, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom invoked the International Health Regulations on 2 May.

Initial case count

7 (2 confirmed, 5 suspected)

Initial deaths

3 (1 critically ill, 3 mild)

Symptom onset window

6 Apr – 28 Apr 2026

On board at notification

147 (88 passengers, 59 crew, 23 nationalities)

Voyage

Ushuaia → Antarctica → South Georgia → Tristan da Cunha → Saint Helena → Ascension → Cape Verde

WHO global risk assessment

Low

Updated DON consolidating laboratory confirmations and the international response after the Andes virus was sequenced at Institut Pasteur de Dakar.

Updated case count (8 May)

8 (6 confirmed, 2 probable)

Updated death count

3 (2 PCR-confirmed Andes)

Countries with hospitalised cases

South Africa, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Saint Helena

Strain

Andes orthohantavirus (ANDV)

Geneva briefing detailing WHO's logistical response and Dr Tedros' decision to travel to Tenerife for the disembarkation.

WHO expert deployed

1 (boarded MV Hondius)

Diagnostic kits dispatched

2,500

Cases at briefing

8 (5 confirmed, 3 deaths)

Public health risk

Low (limited human-to-human only)

Operational coordination between WHO and Spain ahead of the 10 May arrival at Granadilla Port.

Repatriation flights coordinated

10 (6 EU + 4 non-EU)

Countries coordinating evacuation

22

Clinical advisory to U.S. providers covering case definitions, isolation precautions and reporting channels.

Cases at issuance

8 (6 confirmed, 2 suspected, 3 deaths)

Vessel complement

147 (86 passengers + 61 crew, 23 countries)

Departure

Ushuaia, 1 Apr 2026

Recommended PPE

Gown, gloves, eye protection, N95+

Activation of CDC's Emergency Operations Center at Level 3 and details of the U.S. repatriation pathway.

Emergency response level

Level 3

U.S. quarantine site

Offutt AFB / University of Nebraska, Omaha

U.S. domestic risk

Extremely low

EU/EEA risk assessment and case overview, including the European hospitalisations.

Cases (9 May)

8 (6 confirmed, 2 probable, 3 deaths)

EU/EEA nationalities aboard

9 of 23 countries

EU/EEA general-population risk

Very low

Notification received

2 May 2026

Identification and follow-up of every passenger who left the ship at Jamestown on 24 April.

Saint Helena disembarks identified

30 (12 nationalities)

UK KL592 cases confirmed

2

Suspected case on Tristan da Cunha

1 (spouse isolating)

Reference-laboratory confirmation of Andes virus in Case 2 (OR Tambo) and Case 3 (Ascension medevac).

PCR-confirmed cases (NICD)

2

OR Tambo contact-tracing leads

62 identified, 42 located, all negative

Apr 25 Airlink flight (St Helena → JNB)

82 passengers + 6 crew traced

Whole-genome sequencing on specimens forwarded from Cape Verde identified the outbreak strain as Andes virus.

Outbreak strain

Andes orthohantavirus (ANDV)

Specimens sequenced

Forwarded from Praia, Cabo Verde (3 May)

Operator-issued chronology of onboard deaths, evacuations and crew illness.

Onboard deaths reported

3 (11 Apr, 27 Apr, 2 May)

Crew with acute respiratory symptoms (4 May)

2

Medevac to Johannesburg

1 (British national, ICU)

Curated alerts surfacing KL592 flight-attendant follow-up, the Spanish Alicante passenger, and the Tristan da Cunha suspected case ahead of formal notifications.

KL592 flight attendant

Hospitalised in Amsterdam, PCR negative 8 May

Alicante passenger (KL592, row 2 behind Case 2)

1 hospitalised

Tristan da Cunha suspected

1 hospitalised

Country-by-country list of monitoring jurisdictions used to populate the contact-tracing footprint.

Countries monitoring disembarks

12 — Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, UK, US

U.S. state-level breakdown referenced in the CDC HAN 528 entry on the Live page.

U.S. states monitoring

Georgia (2), Texas (2), Virginia (1), Arizona (1), California (n/d)

Canadian asymptomatic monitoring

3 (2 Ontario, 1 Quebec)

Reporting on the Saint Helena disembarkation event used to source the 30-passenger figure across 12 nationalities.

Saint Helena disembarks

30

Disembark nationalities

12

Used for the disembarkation logistics: arrival time, repatriation cadence and the military-hospital rooming plan.

Disembarkation date

10 May 2026, ~05:30 local

Repatriation flights

Sun & Mon (10–11 May)

Quarantine model

Individual rooms in military hospital + day-7 PCR

Reporting on Spain's response and the Canary Islands government's disembarkation deadline.

Canary Islands disembarkation deadline

10 May 2026

Repatriation flights expected

6 EU + 4 non-EU

Background context on the contact-tracing methodology applied to non-respiratory hantavirus exposure.

Person-to-person spread

Andes virus only, requires close prolonged contact

Consolidated, citation-rich timeline used to cross-check WHO/CDC numbers against media coverage.

Cumulative case count

8 (6 confirmed, 2 probable)

Cumulative deaths

3

Voyage length

Departed Ushuaia 1 Apr → Tenerife 10 Apr

Granadilla Port arrival

10 May 2026, ~05:30 local