All passengers evacuated from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius following a hantavirus outbreak have tested negative for the virus, authorities in the Netherlands, France, and the United States confirmed this week, as a major international repatriation operation was declared successfully concluded in Tenerife, Spain.

The MV Hondius departed South America in early April for an expedition-style voyage to remote islands, intending to end its journey in Europe. Alarm bells sounded earlier this month when a South African laboratory confirmed the presence of Andes hantavirus — a rare but potentially deadly variant of the disease typically transmitted by rodents, and one of the few forms capable of spreading between humans through close contact — in a Dutch female passenger who had been hospitalised in South Africa. She subsequently died, becoming the second fatality linked to the ship; her husband had died earlier during the voyage under circumstances that were not immediately identified. A third death has since been recorded. As of 13 May, WHO reported 11 cases linked to the ship, including eight laboratory-confirmed Andes virus infections, two probable cases, and one inconclusive case pending further testing in the United States.

The Netherlands, as the ship's flag state, organised evacuation flights for crew and passengers, with groups arriving at Eindhoven airport over several days. The Dutch public health institute RIVM confirmed that all 52 people who arrived on two evacuation flights tested negative on arrival. In France, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced that all 26 close contacts present in France — many of whom had been on connecting flights where a symptomatic Dutch passenger was present — also tested negative. However, one French passenger who had been aboard the ship tested positive and remains in serious condition in a French hospital. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 41 people are being monitored, including 16 repatriated passengers quarantined at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and two in Atlanta. CDC incident manager Dr. David Fitter stressed that