How a Little-Known Virus on a Cruise Ship Put the World's Health Security Framework to the Test

When the United Kingdom notified WHO on 2 May 2026 of a cluster of severe respiratory illness aboard a Dutch-flagged cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, passengers from 23 countries were on board. Within days, cases of hantavirus (Andes strain) had been confirmed in South Africa, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The ship was still at sea. ...