Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 18th 2026 - 06:25 UTC

Health & Science

  • Tuesday, May 12th 2026 - 02:27 UTC

    Labs across three continents confirm passenger-to-passenger spread on hantavirus cruise

    Hantavirus shows a reduced capacity to mutate compared with other pathogens such as influenza or coronaviruses

    A comparative genomic analysis of five people infected aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius has confirmed that the hantavirus spread from passenger to passenger during the voyage, according to a study published on the open scientific platform Viriological and produced jointly by laboratories in South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The scientific finding supports the hypothesis handled since the outbreak began, which has left ten people infected and three dead, and completes the epidemiological picture after weeks of investigation.

    Add your comment!
  • Sunday, May 10th 2026 - 17:08 UTC

    British paratroopers drop onto Tristan da Cunha to treat suspected hantavirus case

    3.3 tonnes of medical equipment were airdropped in three batches, including bottled oxygen, the island's supplies of which had fallen to critical levels

    A British military team parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha on Saturday, the United Kingdom's most remote overseas territory, to assist a British national suspected of contracting hantavirus, in the first humanitarian operation of its kind carried out by the British Armed Forces. The island, home to 221 residents, has no airstrip and is normally accessible only by sea.

    Add your comment!
  • Saturday, May 9th 2026 - 06:43 UTC

    Tenerife braces for race-against-time operation to evacuate 140 from MV Hondius

    The operational window is narrow. Canary Islands government spokesman Alfonso Cabello warned that the evacuation must be completed between Sunday and Monday

    Spain faces a complex international operation in Tenerife on Sunday to evacuate the passengers and crew of the cruise ship MV Hondius, struck by a hantavirus outbreak that has left three dead and five laboratory-confirmed cases among the eight identified by the World Health Organization. The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying more than 140 people and one body still on board, will anchor off the port of Granadilla between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. local time.

    Add your comment!
  • Friday, May 8th 2026 - 15:40 UTC

    Ushuaia landfill scrutinized in cruise ship hantavirus outbreak probe

    Several of the roughly 150 tourists who set sail for Cape Verde on 1 April had visited the landfill, which is frequented by birdwatchers from around the world, drawn by scavenger species

    Seven kilometers from downtown Ushuaia, the municipal landfill serving Argentina's southernmost city has become one of the focal points of the epidemiological investigation into the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. Health teams are searching the site for traces of infected rodents. The landfill is frequented by birdwatchers from around the world, drawn by species such as the white-throated caracara, a scavenger bird endemic to the region.

  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 23:08 UTC

    Falklands students send special message to Sir David Attenborough on his 100th birthday

    Students from the Falkland Islands' schools have prepared a video message for Sir David Attenborough to mark the broadcaster and naturalist's 100th birthday, which he will celebrate on Friday, May 8. The initiative, announced by the Falkland Islands Government's London Office, seeks to recognise the influence Sir David's documentary series have had on the archipelago's younger generations and his career-long role in showcasing the islands' natural heritage internationally.

  • Thursday, May 7th 2026 - 09:06 UTC

    Foreign Office statement on the Hantavirus outbreak and UKOTs under support

    “Ministers are in close touch with our Dutch and Spanish counterparts and we have been working with other countries to facilitate the medical evacuations”, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper

    A statement from Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on the Hantavirus outbreak, “The outbreak of Hantavirus is very serious and deeply stressful for those affected and their families. The UK response is being led by the UK Health Security Agency working with the WHO.

  • Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 16:10 UTC

    WHO confirms Andes strain in MV Hondius outbreak and traces 23 passengers who disembarked at Saint Helena

    The MV Hondius is expected to take between three and four days to reach the Canary Islands from its current position off Cape Verde

    The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Wednesday that the variant responsible for the hantavirus outbreak aboard polar cruise ship MV Hondius is the Andes virus, the only documented strain capable of human-to-human transmission, raised the total number of linked cases to eight, and launched the international tracing of 23 passengers who left the ship two weeks ago during a stop at the island of Saint Helena. The confirmation of the strain represents a significant epidemiological development and substantially widens the scope of the health investigation.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 22:18 UTC

    Falklands monitor MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak and clarify the route did not include the islands

    The Falkland Islands Government announced that the KEMH “will review its policies for receiving unwell passengers off cruise ships, on a case-by-case basis”

    The Falkland Islands Government issued an official statement on Tuesday confirming that it is closely monitoring the hantavirus outbreak aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius — a vessel that frequently operates in the archipelago's waters — and took the opportunity to correct information reported by some international media outlets suggesting that the ship had stopped at the islands on its current voyage from Ushuaia. The Falkland Islands Maritime Authority clarified that this information is incorrect and that the Hondius's most recent visit to the archipelago was in mid-February, weeks before the journey that triggered the current health crisis.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 21:58 UTC

    Spain agrees to receive hantavirus-hit cruise ship in Canary Islands following WHO request

    The reception protocol will be developed by the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

    The Spanish government on Tuesday night authorised the docking in the Canary Islands of the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, on which a hantavirus outbreak has already left three people dead, after Cape Verdean authorities denied it entry to their ports and following a formal request from the World Health Organization (WHO) that invoked Spain's “moral and legal obligation” to assist the 147 passengers and crew on board, including 14 Spanish citizens.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 03:23 UTC

    Cape Verde denies docking to hantavirus-hit cruise ship as WHO confirms seven cases

    Aboard the Dutch-flagged Hondius are 147 passengers and crew members of 23 nationalities, including 17 Americans and at least 4 Canadians

    Cape Verde's health authorities on Monday denied permission to dock at the port of Praia to polar cruise ship MV Hondius, on board which the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed seven cases of hantavirus — two of them laboratory-verified — and three deaths linked to the voyage. The decision leaves the nearly 150 people remaining on board in prolonged isolation in Atlantic waters, while medical evacuations are coordinated for patients in the most serious condition and authorities evaluate the possibility of continuing the journey toward the Canary Islands, on Spanish territory.

Previous