On April 11, 2026, the MV Hondius, a luxury cruise ship, was reported to have multiple Hantavirus cases while leaving Argentina. Hantavirus is a disease carried by rats and transmitted to humans through their feces. A passenger picked up a rare strand of the Hantavirus that can be transmitted from human to human through prolonged contact. According to CNN, 18 passengers were carefully evacuated and sent to their respective countries first, as they were at the center of the outbreak.

Despite public backlash, the cruise ship containing the infected passengers was permitted to dock, and the infected passengers are being treated. Each passenger has been taken back to their respective countries. The public has received this news, negatively stirring a panic in the state of the public, according to CNN. Even though the virus is hard to be transferred, the public is still in panic.

According to CNN, three passengers passed away due to the Hantavirus and eleven others were hospitalized. The infected passengers were sent to multiple different places, such as the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska, or their homes or hospitals in their own countries.

Rumors have been spreading constantly with comments that some passengers that were on the cruise ship had escaped and are roaming the U.S. While it is just a rumor, U.S. citizens are panicking, even after reassurance that the virus is hard to spread. Even though it is hard to spread, the mortality rate is 40%, 37.3% more lethal than Covid-19.

Luckily enough, every passenger on the ship is being treated or being quarantined, keeping the virus as small as possible.