Hanta

Methodology

About the Hantavirus Tracker

A live, global view of the 2026 Hantavirus outbreak. We aggregate publicly available surveillance reports and news so people can see roughly where Hantavirus is being reported. It is not a clinical or epidemiological tool, and it is not medical advice.

What is Hantavirus?

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents. People typically catch them by inhaling aerosolised dust from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva — most often while cleaning enclosed spaces where rodents have nested. They cause two main human syndromes:

  • Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) — caused by New World hantaviruses such as Sin Nombre virus (the Americas) and Andes virus. Begins like flu, then can progress rapidly to severe lung failure. Case fatality is roughly 35–40%.
  • Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) — caused by Old World hantaviruses such as Hantaan, Seoul, Puumala, and Dobrava. Affects the kidneys and blood vessels. Severity varies widely by strain.

Most hantaviruses do not spread between people. The notable exception is Andes virus (ANDV), found in Argentina and Chile, which is the only hantavirus with documented human-to-human transmission — a feature driving the focus on the 2026 cluster.

The 2026 outbreak

The 2026 Hantavirus event being tracked here is centred on the MV Hondius cruise-ship cluster in May 2026, with downstream cases identified after passengers disembarked. The strain implicated is Andes virus (ANDV), and several downstream cases have been confirmed in Switzerland, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States (Arizona, Georgia), Cape Verde, and Argentina.

Confirmed counts on this site come from the GISAG ArcGIS dashboard, which itself draws on WHO Disease Outbreak News (DON599 and follow-ons), the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), and verified press reports.

Cases whose country and time window are covered by an official WHO Disease Outbreak Notice carry a WHO badge linking back to the relevant DON. The badge means an authoritative WHO notice exists for that country in a ±90-day window of the case's report date — not that the individual patient is named in the notice.

How this tracker works

There is no real-time global Hantavirus case feed. Unlike COVID-19, Hantavirus is rare enough that surveillance is published as periodic reports — not live APIs. So the tracker is honest about the limits of what's available:

Confirmed cases

Per-case rows with real coordinates. Currently sourced from a public ArcGIS dashboard curated by GISAG that tracks the ANDV 2026 outbreak. Their points are themselves drawn from WHO Disease Outbreak News, BAG, and verified press reports.

News context

Headlines indexed from GDELT 2.0 that mention Hantavirus, surfaced in the live activity feed alongside cases. Not counted as cases — articles often describe the same event.

Note on provenance: the ArcGIS dashboard we currently rely on is curated by an individual outside the public-health agencies. We surface it with attribution while we evaluate replacing it with direct WHO Disease Outbreak News + CDC NNDSS feeds.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How can I catch Hantavirus?

Most cases follow inhalation of aerosolised dust from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva — usually in enclosed spaces. Andes virus (ANDV) is the only hantavirus known to spread between people; the other strains do not.

What are Hantavirus symptoms?

Early symptoms include fever, severe muscle aches, fatigue, and headache, typically 1–8 weeks after exposure. HPS later involves cough and shortness of breath. HFRS may include lower back pain and reduced urination. If you suspect exposure, contact a clinician or your local public-health authority.

Is there a vaccine or cure?

There is no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for HPS in the United States or Europe. Care is supportive (oxygen, ventilatory support, fluid balance). Early hospitalisation improves outcomes.

How often is this site updated?

The confirmed-case feed polls every three hours and the news feed polls hourly. The page itself revalidates every minute, and new rows arrive live via Supabase Realtime. The status bar at the top of the page shows the time since the most recent update.

Disclaimer

This site aggregates publicly reported information for awareness only. It is not medical advice, not a substitute for official public-health guidance, and case counts may be incomplete or out of date. Consult your local public-health authority or a clinician for medical decisions.

Privacy

The site does not require an account. Anonymous traffic data — country, city, page path, and timestamp — is logged for traffic monitoring and shown on a private operator dashboard. No IP addresses, no fingerprints, no personal identifiers are stored. We also use Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights for performance monitoring; both are privacy-preserving and require no cookie consent.