🏳 GS

A cruise ship carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries reported a cluster of severe respiratory illness linked to hantavirus infection on 2 May 2026. As of 4 May, 7 cases had been identified—2 laboratory-confirmed hantavirus infections and 5 suspected—with 3 deaths, 1 critically ill patient, and 3 with mild symptoms. The Dutch-flagged vessel departed Argentina on 1 April and visited remote regions including Antarctica, South Georgia, and island territories in the South Atlantic before being moored off Cabo Verde. WHO-coordinated response includes case isolation, medical evacuation, laboratory investigation, and international contact tracing, with particular concern given documented human-to-human transmission potential of the Andes hantavirus variant.

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the South Sandwich Islands region on May 30, 2026, at a depth of 95.7 kilometers. No people were affected within 100 kilometers of the epicenter.