Rastreador Global de Brotes

En general, no. La mayoría de las especies de hantavirus —incluidos el virus Sin Nombre, Puumala, Hantaan y Seúl— se transmiten únicamente por contacto con roedores infectados o con sus excrementos, orina y saliva. La única excepción documentada es el virus Andes (ANDV), presente sobre todo en Argentina y Chile. El virus Andes se ha vinculado a una transmisión limitada entre personas, pero solo en casos de contacto estrecho y prolongado (por ejemplo, convivientes o personal sanitario sin protección). El brote del MV Hondius está causado por el virus Andes, motivo por el cual se está realizando rastreo de contactos a nivel internacional pese a lo infrecuente de la transmisión entre humanos.

Ebola virus disease has a historical case-fatality rate of 25-90% depending on strain, with Bundibugyo ebolavirus — the strain driving the active 2026 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda — historically around 25-40%. Per the WHO Situation Report of 18 May 2026, the outbreak had recorded 528 reported cases (2 lab-confirmed in Uganda, 526 under investigation) and 132 deaths, with 668 contacts identified. No vaccine or monoclonal antibody therapy is currently approved for the Bundibugyo strain, unlike Zaire ebolavirus which has Ervebo and two approved antibody treatments. WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 18 May 2026.

The MV Hondius 2026 cluster is the first documented hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship travel, but the ship environment was not itself the source of transmission. Hantavirus does not spread easily from person to person — the source was an index case who had spent four months in Andes virus-endemic areas of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding. Andes virus is the only hantavirus strain with documented (but limited) person-to-person transmission, requiring prolonged close contact. WHO and ECDC assessed the risk to the general public from the MV Hondius cluster as 'low' to 'very low'. The episode demonstrates that travelers returning from Andes-endemic South American regions within 8 weeks of symptoms should disclose that travel history to clinicians immediately.

La incubación del hantavirus suele oscilar entre 1 y 8 semanas tras la exposición, y la mayoría de los casos presentan síntomas entre 2 y 4 semanas después del contacto (CDC). Este periodo de incubación prolongado es uno de los motivos por los que la OMS mantiene la vigilancia activa de los pasajeros y contactos del MV Hondius: con desembarcos en Santa Elena el 24 de abril de 2026 y personas dispersas hoy en 6 países, podrían aparecer nuevos casos vinculados al brote hasta mediados de junio de 2026.

Hantavirus is diagnosed using a combination of laboratory tests and clinical criteria. The gold standard for Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is serology: IgM and IgG ELISA antibody tests that become positive within days of symptom onset. RT-PCR (reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction) can detect viral RNA in blood during the early febrile phase before antibodies develop, and was used to confirm Andes virus in the MV Hondius cluster cases. Supportive CBC findings include thrombocytopenia (platelets often below 150,000/µL), immunoblasts (activated lymphocytes), hemoconcentration (rising hematocrit), and left-shifted neutrophilia. Chest X-ray and CT show bilateral interstitial infiltrates as HPS progresses to pulmonary edema. Diagnosis typically combines a compatible clinical picture, recent rodent exposure or travel to an endemic area, and confirmatory serology or PCR. Standard influenza or COVID-19 tests will NOT detect hantavirus — physicians must order specific hantavirus serology panels, available through most state and national reference laboratories in the US, EU, Argentina, and Chile.