By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
During the pandemic I recall the WHO and other public health agencies making every wrong move in terms of action steps. Now the same is playing out on the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak. Three passengers are dead, some on the ship, making it clear that doctors cannot manage even the earliest stages of this illness outside the hospital. Instead of evacuating all the passengers and getting them to safe on-shore quarantine with rapid access to hospital and ICU care, like a petri dish, the boat is chugging through the Atlantic to the Canary Islands.
A team of World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologists was scheduled to board the MV Hondius on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 5, 2026.
The vessel, which had been stranded off the coast of Cabo Verde due to a deadly outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus, was met by the team to conduct a clinical review of the 147 passengers and crew. This investigation was a crucial delay in determining if the ship would be cleared to continue its journey to the Canary Islands or be rerouted directly to the Netherlands.
Delayed Investigation Timeline (2026)
April 11, 2026: The first person to die on the MV Hondius during the 2026 hantavirus outbreak was a 70-year-old Dutch male passenger.
May 2: The WHO received the first official notification of the cluster of severe respiratory illnesses following laboratory confirmation of hantavirus in South Africa.
May 4: The WHO issued a Disease Outbreak News (DON) report, officially identifying the outbreak as hantavirus.
May 5: A team of WHO experts boarded the vessel while it was moored off Cabo Verde to assess the health of those on board.
May 6: Following the assessment, three individuals (two symptomatic and one asymptomatic) were medically evacuated by aircraft, and instead of full evacuation and airlift, the ship was permitted to depart for Tenerife as invariably more cases will emerge given the long 1-8 week incubation phase.
As of today, May 8, 2026, the ship is currently in transit to the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, where it is expected to arrive within the next few days under strict quarantine protocols allowing passengers to get sick on board with inadequate early phase care.
Tertiary Care (Third-Level Hospitals) in Canary Islands
These are the most advanced medical facilities on the island only has 116-120 ICU beds. If hantavirus patients are saved, it is due to very high level care including mechanical ventilation, ECMO, and dialysis. Neither of these hospitals are adequate from a public health emergency perspective.
Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria: Located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it is one of the primary reference hospitals for the province.
Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC): Situated in La Laguna, this is a major center for complex medical research and specialized procedures.
While public health experts where on CNN last night praising the WHO, I gave the audience on Real America’s Voice a different perspective. Hantavirus is a fatal infection and a cruise ship far from ICU care is unacceptable for monitoring exposed persons in quarantine. Even if this is the Andes strain with theoretical person-to-person spread, it is far safer to manage the outbreak on shore with tertiary care facilities at hand. I am fearful this WHO blunder will result in more cases, airlifts, and death.
Please subscribe to FOCAL POINTS as a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth. Alter AI may be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.
Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
President, McCullough Foundation
FOCAL POINTS has partnered with Patriot Mobile to defend your medical freedom. Join Patriot Mobile today!
