Hantavirus is no novelty in France. Several strains have been circulating there for decades. But the MV Hondius episode marks the arrival of an unprecedented situation: a cluster of Andes virus — the most dangerous strain in the family — on board a cruise vessel, with 5 French passengers repatriated, 1 confirmed positive case as of 11 May 2026 and 22 contact cases identified in metropolitan France. Summary based on official sources and verified press.
11 May 2026: first Andes case confirmed in France
On the morning of Monday 11 May 2026, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon announced on BFM TV that a French national had tested positive for the Andes virus. She was one of the five people repatriated the previous day from Tenerife aboard a chartered medical flight. She had symptoms during the flight and was placed immediately under strict isolation at Bichat Hospital (Paris, 18th arrondissement) on arrival. The patient is now hospitalised in intensive care in stable condition, in a negative-pressure room, per the Prime Minister's statements.
A few hours later, Le Monde reported that a US passenger of the MV Hondius had also tested positive, bringing to several units the international tally of confirmed cases (exact figure being consolidated by the health authorities).
Decree of 10 May: 42 days of quarantine and isolation
Announced on the evening of 10 May by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on CNews and published in the Official Journal of 11 May 2026 under reference decree no. 2026-364 of 10 May 2026, the text formalises measures applying to three categories of people:
- MV Hondius passengers who stayed on board between 1 April and 10 May 2026: quarantine in a healthcare facility followed by quarantine or isolation, for a total duration of 42 days — matching the maximum known incubation period of the Andes virus (7 to 42 days).
- Contacts of these passengers or of any confirmed case, where they present a serious infection risk: tailored quarantine or isolation.
- Passengers of two specific flights identified as at risk, required to report to the health authorities without delay: flight 4Z132 Saint Helena → Johannesburg of 25 April 2026 and flight KL592 Johannesburg → Amsterdam of 25 April 2026.
The decree entered into force immediately, under the responsibility of the Ministers of the Interior and of Health. On the evening of 11 May, following a crisis meeting at Matignon, the Prime Minister announced a tightening of the scheme: all French contact cases — 22 people — are now placed under "enhanced hospital quarantine", no longer in self-isolation at home as initially planned.
Two daily interministerial meetings are held at Matignon to coordinate the health authorities (Foreign Ministry, ARS Île-de-France, Santé publique France, Institut Pasteur).
The 22 contact cases and the 5 repatriated passengers
The total figure under follow-up in France was clarified between 10 and 11 May. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist detailed the contact chain on France Inter.
The 5 MV Hondius passengers
Repatriated to Bichat on 10 May from Tenerife. One tested positive (in intensive care, stable). Four tested negative at this stage, maintained under hospital quarantine under the decree for the full 42 days.
The 8 contacts on flight Saint Helena → Johannesburg (4Z132)
This commercial flight of 25 April 2026 carried 8 French nationals alongside a Dutch passenger who died on arrival in Johannesburg on 26 April, after a rapid deterioration during the flight. Per the Ministry of Health, one of these 8 French passengers has mild symptoms and diagnostic tests are under way. All are placed under enhanced hospital isolation.
The 14 other contact cases
Identified more recently, notably via the KL592 Johannesburg → Amsterdam flight of 25 April 2026 and the close circle of the confirmed patient. These 14 people, initially placed in self-isolation at home, were transferred to hospital quarantine following the tightening decided on 11 May.
Index-case hypothesis: the Dutch ornithologist
According to initial investigation made public by the Argentine authorities and relayed by the international press, the index case of the MV Hondius outbreak would be Leo Schilperoord, a 70-year-old Dutch ornithologist who died on board. His partner Mirjam, who travelled with him, also died.
The reconstructed scenario rests on three elements:
- Before boarding in Ushuaia on 1 April 2026, the couple allegedly visited, on 27 March, an open-air landfill near Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) — a region endemic to the Andes virus.
- The site is frequented by amateur ornithologists for observing the Darwin's caracara (Phalcoboenus albogularis), a rare species in the area.
- The landfill hosts colilargo colonies (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus), the main reservoir of the Andes virus. Per the Argentine authorities, the couple may have inhaled particles from the droppings of these rodents.
Four days after this visit, on 1 April, Mr Schilperoord boarded the MV Hondius. On 6 April, he reported headaches, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. He died five days later on board.
This scenario illustrates a classic pattern of zoonotic emergence: a human behaviour (intrusion into a high-density rodent habitat) creates exceptional exposure to a virus normally confined to an animal cycle. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome then developed during the crossing, when the vessel was already far from any medicalised port.
However, this hypothesis has since been seriously contested. See our detailed article on the Ushuaïa landfill and the index case for the four-pronged counter-evidence put forward by provincial authorities, the WHO, a local guide and a temporal argument.
Not the first hantavirus in France — but the first Andes
Hantaviruses have circulated in France for a long time, in a much less severe form than the Andes virus. The Puumala virus, transmitted by the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), is responsible for an epidemic nephropathy mainly observed in:
- Franche-Comté (notably the Doubs département)
- Alsace
- Champagne-Ardenne
- Picardie
Per data from the French National Reference Centre for Hantaviruses (Institut Pasteur), about 100 cases are diagnosed per year on average in metropolitan France (2,046 cumulative cases between 2005 and 2024, with a peak at 320 cases in 2021 and a trough at 14 cases in 2013). The disease presents as a fever with renal involvement of moderate intensity, usually reversible. Case fatality is low, around 0.4% (Santé publique France / ECDC data). No person-to-person transmission has been documented for the Puumala virus.
The MV Hondius episode is therefore the first Andes virus episode identified in France — a strain so far endemic to Argentina and Chile, and far more dangerous (case fatality around 35-40%, against around 0.4% for Puumala).
"As severe as Ebola": Flahault's framing
In an interview with Le Parisien on 11 May 2026, epidemiologist Antoine Flahault, professor at Université Paris Cité and director of the Geneva Institute of Global Health, drew a striking comparison: in his view, the Andes hantavirus would be as severe as the Ebola virus. The comparison aims to draw attention to the individual severity of the infection:
- Case fatality of the Andes virus: around 35 to 40%
- Case fatality of Ebola (depending on strains): 25 to 90%, averaging around 50%
But the comparison stops at this clinical severity. Like Ebola, the Andes virus:
- requires close and prolonged contact for person-to-person transmission (no broad airborne transmission);
- remains rare in person-to-person transmission: per published estimates, only a minority of cases are transmitted human-to-human for Andes;
- allows active surveillance of contacts during the incubation period, which breaks transmission chains.
The WHO's assessment of the risk to the French population therefore remains low. No barrier measures are imposed on the general public. Surveillance focuses exclusively on people identified as at-risk contacts.
What to do in France?
For the general public
No specific measure required. No mask, no distancing, no change of activity. Hantavirus diseases are not transmitted by brief contact or in open urban settings.
For people linked to the MV Hondius or to the at-risk flights
You were a MV Hondius passenger (1 April – 10 May 2026), you were on flight 4Z132 Saint Helena → Johannesburg of 25 April or flight KL592 Johannesburg → Amsterdam of 25 April, or you are a close contact identified as at-risk:
- You have been or will be contacted by your ARS (regional health agency) or by Santé publique France.
- The decree of 10 May requires you to report without delay to the health authorities.
- Monitor your temperature daily for the 42 days following last exposure.
- At the slightest sign (fever, headaches, muscle pain, shortness of breath): call the emergency services (in France: 15 or 112) and immediately mention your exposure to the MV Hondius or to the named flights.
- Do not go to a waiting room without notifying: an isolated reception protocol is in place.
For rural Puumala-risk areas
If you live or work in forested areas of Doubs, Alsace or Franche-Comté and handle firewood or clean closed spaces:
- ventilate before intervening;
- wear an FFP2 mask and gloves;
- spray diluted bleach (1:9) before sweeping;
- do not sweep dry, do not vacuum: use bleach and paper towels.
The Puumala virus remains rare but its circulation is well documented in France.
And what next?
The MV Hondius episode is still ongoing as of 11 May 2026. Results of control PCR tests on the four asymptomatic Bichat passengers and on the symptomatic at-risk-flight contact are awaited. An interministerial meeting is held at Matignon twice a day to coordinate the response. Surveillance of the 22 contact cases and the 5 passengers extends until end of June 2026 at minimum, in line with the maximum incubation period.
HantaTracker updates this page on every official development, with verified sources. The home page and the France protocol page complete this file.