Most hantaviruses do not spread between people. The Andes virus strain — implicated in the 2026 MV Hondius outbreak — is the only known hantavirus with documented human-to-human transmission, and even then transmission requires close and prolonged contact.
Most hantaviruses do not spread between people. The Andes virus strain — implicated in the 2026 MV Hondius outbreak — is the only known hantavirus with documented human-to-human transmission, and even then transmission requires close and prolonged contact.
All other hantavirus species are exclusively rodent-to-human. The MV Hondius cluster has become a focus of intensified contact-tracing because it involves Andes virus, but WHO continues to assess the global public-health risk as low.
This answer is based on WHO Disease Outbreak News (DON599, DON600), the CDC's hantavirus clinical overview, ECDC technical assessments, and peer-reviewed Andes virus literature including the Epuyén cluster studies.
For the live 2026 outbreak picture, see the MV Hondius tracker.
→ See the live MV Hondius tracker, full timeline, and 15 hantavirus news sourcesIt applies to both the current cluster and the broader hantavirus epidemiology. The MV Hondius cluster involves the Andes virus strain, which is the only hantavirus capable of person-to-person transmission.
WHO's Disease Outbreak News DON600 (May 8) and the Director-General's May 9 message to the people of Tenerife are the most up-to-date official sources. Hanta Hub aggregates these on the main tracker.
Hanta Hub refreshes the outbreak data and source list daily during the active MV Hondius cluster, with a scheduled automated update each morning.