Le MV Hondius atteint les Canaries : ce qui va se passer
L'Espagne a autorisé le navire à accoster après un foyer mortel d'hantavirus. Nous détaillons les étapes médicales, logistiques et de traçage des contacts désormais engagées.
Le 6 mai 2026, les autorités espagnoles ont autorisé le MV Hondius à accoster aux Canaries, mettant fin à un bras de fer de quatre jours au large du Cap-Vert. Le navire d'expédition sous pavillon néerlandais transportait 88 passagers et 59 membres d'équipage à travers l'Atlantique Sud depuis le 1ᵉʳ avril, quand un foyer de syndrome respiratoire aigu — désormais suspecté d'être un hantavirus — a tué trois personnes à bord.
Ci-dessous : les chiffres vérifiés du foyer au 6 mai, issus des rapports de situation de l'OMS et de l'armateur Oceanwide Expeditions.
▶ Foyer MV Hondius — chiffres actuels
en directAu 12 mai 2026 (OMS) · Chiffres issus des rapports de situation de l'OMS et des communications d'Oceanwide Expeditions.
Ce qu'impliquera l'accostage
Les autorités sanitaires du port de destination suivent un protocole standard pour les foyers à bord d'un navire :
- Réception médicale. Les passagers et membres d'équipage symptomatiques sont évalués à l'arrivée. Ceux toujours gravement malades — dont, d'après les rapports, deux membres d'équipage en état critique — sont transférés vers des hôpitaux à terre.
- Traçage des contacts. Les enquêteurs reconstituent les déplacements de chacun avant, pendant et après le voyage. La liste des contacts peut s'étendre bien au-delà du navire : un ressortissant français a déjà été identifié comme cas contact après avoir partagé un vol vers Johannesburg avec l'un des patients évacués fin avril.
- Désinfection. Le navire lui-même est inspecté et désinfecté. Pour les pathogènes d'origine murine, une attention particulière est portée au stockage alimentaire, aux quartiers de l'équipage et à toute cabine où poussière ou déjections pourraient héberger du virus viable.
- Rapatriement. Une fois autorisés, les passagers peuvent être rapatriés selon les protocoles de leurs gouvernements respectifs. La France, les Pays-Bas, l'Allemagne et le Royaume-Uni ont tous activé leurs services consulaires et sanitaires en coordination avec l'OMS.
La question de la souche
L'OMS a documenté à ce stade huit cas — trois confirmés en laboratoire — en plus des trois décès. Le virus Andes, seul hantavirus connu pour se transmettre entre humains, a été confirmé chez un passager suisse après son débarquement et son retour chez lui. Un séquençage complémentaire sur les échantillons prélevés à bord le 4 mai par des spécialistes de l'Institut Pasteur de Dakar devrait confirmer si la même souche circule dans le cluster.
L'OMS continue d'évaluer le risque pour le grand public comme faible, tout en soulignant que le traçage des contacts doit être exhaustif compte tenu de la dispersion géographique inhabituellement large des passagers — 23 nationalités sont représentées à bord.
Chronologie du foyer
▣ Chronologie du foyer
- DÉPART
Departure from Ushuaia
MV Hondius leaves Ushuaia, Argentina, with 88 passengers and 59 crew bound for Cape Verde via Antarctica and the South Atlantic.
- DÉCÈS
First fatality in Johannesburg
A Dutch passenger who had disembarked at Saint Helena dies in Johannesburg. Initially attributed to acute respiratory syndrome of unknown origin.
- ÉVAC
British passenger evacuated to Johannesburg
A second seriously ill passenger, a British national, is evacuated to Johannesburg. Reportedly remains in intensive care.
- OFFICIEL
WHO notified of outbreak
Oceanwide Expeditions notifies authorities of an acute respiratory syndrome cluster aboard the ship. WHO opens an investigation.
- DÉCÈS
WHO confirms three deaths
WHO situation report cites three deaths and several seriously ill passengers. Hantavirus suspected; Andes strain considered.
- ACCOST
Ship anchors off Cape Verde — Pasteur Dakar samples taken
MV Hondius anchors off Cape Verde awaiting docking authorisation. Specialists from the Institut Pasteur de Dakar collect samples from symptomatic passengers for virological analysis and sequencing in the Senegalese capital.
- ÉVAC
Andes virus confirmed in Swiss passenger
A Swiss passenger who had left the ship earlier tests positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus, confirming the suspected pathogen. Three other seriously ill passengers are evacuated for medical care.
- CAS
Parallel case confirmed in Bariloche (Argentina)
A 45-year-old man is hospitalised in Bariloche (Patagonia, the natural range of the Andes virus reservoir) with confirmed hantavirus, in Intermediate Care. Two close contacts (partner and son) are isolated. Samples are sent to Instituto Malbrán to identify the strain — northern Argentine variants do not transmit between people, unlike the Andes virus circulating in this region. Not directly linked to the MV Hondius cluster, but provides parallel epidemiological context.
- OFFICIEL
Andes strain officially confirmed · WHO statement on low public risk
Authorities officially confirm the strain involved is the Andes virus, the only hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission under close prolonged contact. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus states the risk to the general public remains low. Hantaviruses remain on WHO's priority emerging-pathogen list; HPS case fatality can reach 40% in severe presentations.
- ACCOST
Ship departs Cape Verde for Tenerife · evacuation set for May 11
Spain authorises the MV Hondius to dock in the Canary Islands. The ship leaves Cape Verde for Tenerife. The Spanish health ministry estimates the crossing at about three and a half days. Passenger evacuation will begin from May 11 according to the Spanish interior ministry.
- OFFICIEL
France identifies a contact case · activates national response
A French national who shared a flight to Johannesburg with one of the evacuated patients is identified as a contact case. France activates the Direction générale de la santé, Santé publique France, COREB and the Centre national de référence des hantavirus. The foreign affairs ministry and CORRUSS coordinate to prepare the repatriation of French nationals still aboard.
- CAS
New Swiss case admitted to Zurich University Hospital
A passenger who had already disembarked is admitted to the Zurich University Hospital after developing symptoms, bringing the total cases to 8. Three other people are medically evacuated from the ship: two with acute symptoms and a third in close contact with a confirmed case.
- OFFICIEL
Argentina dispatches experts to Ushuaia for rodent surveillance
Argentina announces it is sending experts to Ushuaia — the MV Hondius's departure port — to capture and analyse rodents for "possible presence of the virus", as part of an enhanced epidemiological surveillance strategy. A positive find at the embarkation environment would point to pre-departure exposure.
- CAS
Flight attendant hospitalised in the Netherlands · contact with Johannesburg patient
A flight attendant in the Netherlands has been hospitalised with mild symptoms after a documented contact with the Dutch woman who died of hantavirus in Johannesburg on April 26. The case extends contact tracing from passengers to airline staff and is the first documented possible secondary case in Europe linked to the MV Hondius cluster. Source: BNO News, citing RTL.
- OFFICIEL
WHO operational response · expert aboard, 2,500 diagnostic kits
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issues an official briefing. Confirmed figures: 8 cases, 5 lab-confirmed, 3 deaths. WHO has deployed an expert aboard the MV Hondius, arranged shipment of 2,500 diagnostic kits from Argentina to five countries, and is developing operational guidance for safe disembarkation. International coordination via the IHR. Public risk assessment: low.
- OFFICIEL
CDC activates Emergency Operations Center at Level 3
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activates its Emergency Operations Center at Level 3 (lowest emergency activation tier) for the MV Hondius outbreak. CDC reassigns epidemiologists, scientists and physicians to a dedicated response team. The agency states: "The risk to the general public remains low, but the situation is being actively monitored." (Source: ABC News.)
- CAS
URGENT · mutation question raised by online expert commentary
Independent online commentary (Adam Cochran, @adamscochran) flags the Dutch flight attendant case as potentially significant: the patient was reportedly removed from the flight before departure, meaning the attendant had minimal contact, yet the attendant has developed symptoms within an unusually short window. Andes virus normally requires close prolonged contact and has a longer incubation period. The case raises the question of a possible mutation, though no mutation has been confirmed by any health authority. WHO has not changed its low public-risk assessment.
- ACCOST
MV Hondius arrives at Granadilla Port (Tenerife) · hazmat disembarkation
Expected port arrival around midday at Granadilla Port, Tenerife. Over 100 passengers remaining on board (23 nationalities). Passengers will wear hazmat gear during transfer. ABC News reports up to 12 suspected cases (the WHO 7 May briefing cited 8, including a British national reported on Tristan da Cunha). Reconciliation of figures expected after the on-port medical assessment.
- CAS
New suspected contact case · WHO mentions further possible cases
BFMTV reports a new suspected contact case among the passengers who travelled near the Dutch woman who died of hantavirus during her medical-evacuation journey. WHO confirms that further possible cases may emerge as contact tracing extends to fellow travellers and crew. Argentina states that the origin of the contagion is impossible to confirm at this stage; rodent surveillance in Ushuaia continues.
- OFFICIEL
WHO Disease Outbreak News · 6 lab-confirmed · 75 contacts in South Africa
WHO publishes a detailed Disease Outbreak News update. Total reported: 8 cases (3 deaths). Andes virus is now lab-confirmed in 6 cases (up from 5). 4 patients currently hospitalised. One previously-suspected case is reclassified as a non-case after negative PCR and serology. An adult male who disembarked at Tristan da Cunha on 14 April is stable, in isolation, and classified as a probable case until lab confirmation. 75 contacts have been identified in South Africa, of whom 42 are being actively traced and monitored. WHO + ECDC experts are now on board to support the operation. WHO advises against routine testing or quarantine of asymptomatic contacts.
- ACCOST
Ship docks at Granadilla · evacuation begins · 94 passengers off Day 1
The MV Hondius docks at Granadilla Port, Tenerife, on Sunday 10 May. Disembarkation begins in order of homeward-bound flight departure times — Spanish nationals first. The first evacuation flight takes off at 13:31 local time. By late evening, 7 evacuation flights have departed transporting 94 passengers (19 nationalities) to six European countries and Canada. Travellers escorted to shore by personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks. Operation led by Spanish authorities and the WHO.
- ÉVAC
All 122 individuals evacuated · 16 Americans to Nebraska, 2 to Atlanta
Evacuation completes: 122 individuals repatriated (87 passengers + 35 crew). 16 American passengers arrive at the University of Nebraska Medical Center — 15 admitted to the quarantine unit, 1 to the biocontainment unit. 2 additional American passengers flown to Atlanta for further assessment and care. Two new positives detected post-evacuation: one French passenger, one US passenger. Total confirmed and probable cases rise to 10. Some crew stay aboard to sail the ship to Rotterdam for full disinfection.
- OFFICIEL
WHO Tedros: "This is not another COVID"
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a UN News statement, emphasises that the risk to the wider public remains low, stating "This is not another COVID" and "the risk to the public is low". The operation is now in post-evacuation surveillance phase, with national health authorities of repatriating countries (France, Netherlands, Germany, UK, US, Canada and others) handling contact tracing and isolation of confirmed and probable cases.
Ce qu'il faut surveiller maintenant
- Les résultats du séquençage de Dakar — confirmer que le cluster est entraîné par le virus Andes aurait des implications directes sur la modélisation de la transmission et l'étendue du traçage des contacts.
- L'évolution du patient britannique — toujours en soins intensifs à Johannesburg au 5 mai ; sa guérison ou son décès affectera le taux de létalité global.
- Le sort du traçage de contacts en France — la Direction générale de la santé, Santé publique France et le Centre national de référence des hantavirus participent désormais à la réponse. Tout cas secondaire en Europe constituerait un signal significatif.
- La réaction du secteur — Oceanwide Expeditions et les autres opérateurs de croisières d'expédition pourraient faire face à un examen renouvelé de leurs protocoles antiparasitaires sur les navires à long itinéraire.
Le foyer du MV Hondius est le premier cluster documenté d'hantavirus à bord d'un navire de croisière. Qu'il reste un cas isolé dépendra de ce que les enquêteurs trouveront dans les prochains jours à quai aux Canaries.
▣ Sources
▣ Recevez les alertes du foyer
Recevez les alertes du foyer
Nous vous écrivons quand l'OMS met à jour le bilan ou qu'un nouveau pays est concerné. Pas de spam.
// J'accepte de recevoir des emails sur les mises à jour du foyer. Je peux me désabonner à tout moment.