Welcome to this week’s Pandora Report! This issue highlights a rapidly evolving hantavirus outbreak abroad the MV Hondius cruise ship and the broader implications for global health security, outbreak reporting, and risk communication in the post-COVID-19 era. We also cover emerging concerns surrounding H5N1 transmission, biodefense and biosecurity developments, institutional preparedness challenges, and upcoming events shaping the future of pandemic preparedness and biotechnology governance.
Hantavirus at Sea: A Test for Global Health Security
Alex Kyabarongo is a second-year MS Biodefense student from Uganda with special interests in global health security policy and biothreat reduction programs.
On May 2, 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) received notification from the National International Health Regulations (IHR) Focal Point of the United Kingdom about an outbreak with respiratory symptoms aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic. Although the cause of the outbreak was initially unknown, cases were later confirmed to involve the Andes strain of hantavirus. As of May 13, the WHO reported 11 total cases, including 9 confirmed and 2 probable cases. Three passengers succumbed to the disease, with the first death occurring on April 11. Of the three reported deaths, two were confirmed positive for hantavirus. Epidemiological investigations are underway to determine the source of exposure that led to the outbreak.
The cruise ship, the MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, departed from the Argentine city of Ushuaia on April 1, 2026. Public awareness of the outbreak began on April 12, when a passenger released a video filmed during an onboard announcement regarding the death of an individual aboard the vessel the previous day, according to the operating company. The announcement triggered panic among passengers, prompting some individuals to disembark when the ship reached the island of Saint Helena in the south Atlantic. Those passengers subsequently travelled to several countries, including the United States, Canada, Turkey, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. At this point, the WHO had not yet been formally notified of the outbreak, raising concerns about whether exposed individuals may have already travelled internationally while incubating the virus. Health officials have since initiated contact tracing efforts to identify those who may have been in contact with these passengers as they returned to their home countries.
Hantavirus belongs to a family of viruses mainly spread by rodents. Transmission usually occurs when a person inhales aerosolized viral particles from rodent saliva, urine, or droppings. Hantaviruses generally cause two major syndromes: Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), more commonly reported in Latin America and primarily affects the respiratory system, and Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), more common in Europe and Asia and primarily affects the kidneys. The current outbreak involves HPS caused by the Andes strain of hantavirus. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Andes strain has an incubation period of 4 to 42 days.
Cruise ships can facilitate disease transmission because of close social interactions and shared environments. In the last two years, at least 4 major outbreaks have occurred on a cruise ship, including norovirus, Legionnaires disease, Salmonella and now hantavirus. Fortunately, the hantavirus has a relatively low basic reproduction number (R0), with limited person-to-person transmissibility and low pandemic potential. Following notification of the WHO, epidemiologists were dispatched to the cruise ship to investigate the outbreak while international contact tracing efforts continued for passengers who had previously disembarked.
This outbreak raises several important questions regarding global health security. The first concern relates to the delayed communication from the cruise ship. According to the WHO IHR, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) must be reported within 24 hours of confirmation. While hantavirus is not a PHEIC, its occurrence on a crowded cruise ship should have warranted reporting for prompt response, but it took three weeks for this to happen. The first death on the cruise ship occurred on April 11, yet the WHO did not receive official notification until May 2 and only communicated publicly about the outbreak through its Disease Outbreak News on May 4. By this time, several passengers had already disembarked and travelled internationally. Had this outbreak involved a highly transmissible pathogen, the delayed reporting and response could have posed a much greater public health risk. Consequently, this gap in information sharing was exploited by social media alarmists who amplified the fears surrounding the outbreak before official information became available, creating panic about the possibility of yet another pandemic like COVID-19. Much of this panic stemmed from the onboard video that circulated online following the first recorded death on the cruise ship.
The effects of this misinformation became evident in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands of Spain, where the cruise ship was planning to dock for the evacuation of the passengers. On learning about this plan, the residents of Tenerife staged protests as they opposed allowing the cruise ship to dock on their island for fear of being exposed to the virus. Their fears were ignited and amplified by social media panic about the pandemic potential of hantavirus and exacerbated by unrelated hantavirus cases that had been reported in Israel during the same week. Although these cases are not linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, media reports and social media discussions increasingly correlated the two events, contributing to public anxiety. The residents’ fears and concerns were later debunked by the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who, in a written message, reassured the people of Tenerife that the evacuation process would be handled safely and that the local community would be protected. With this effort from the WHO in coordination with the Spanish public health officials, all passengers and some crew members have been evacuated, and the vessel is now heading to Rotterdam. The situation in Tenerife clearly shows how misinformation campaigns can fuel and exacerbate panic amidst public health emergencies.
The Hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius has revived memories of the early days of COVID-19, which also featured a high-profile outbreak on a cruise ship early in the pandemic. During the initial stage of COVID-19, uncertainty, delayed communication, and rapidly spreading misinformation contributed to widespread panic. While the current outbreak appears to have been contained, it has demonstrated that many gaps in national and global responses to COVID-19 remain insufficiently addressed, particularly regarding rapid reporting and risk communication. Such situations should remind us of the continuing vulnerabilities within the global health security systems. Although the Andes strain of hantavirus has limited transmissibility, the public reaction to the outbreak illustrates how quickly fear and misinformation can spread in an increasingly interconnected world still shaped by the memory of COVID-19. Therefore, we should recognize the importance of timely outbreak reporting, coordinated international response mechanisms, and responsible risk communication during public health emergencies.
GMU Biodefense Director Quoted in Newsweek on Global Biolab Investigations
Professor Gregory Koblentz, Associate Professor and Director of the Biodefense Graduate Program at George Mason University, was recently quoted in a Newsweek article examining the Trump administration’s investigation into more than 120 U.S.-funded biological laboratories operating in over 30 countries. In his comments, Koblentz cautioned that allegations surrounding these laboratories reflect broader Russian and Chinese disinformation narratives alleging U.S.-supported biological weapons activities in Ukraine. He also emphasized that efforts to politicize international public health and biodefense cooperation risk undermining scientific collaboration and distract from more significant biological and chemical weapons threats.
CDC Confirms First Documented Cat-to-Human Transmission of Bird Flu
By Margeaux Malone, Pandora Report Associate Editor
Public health investigators have documented the first known case of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) transmission from a domestic cat to a human, according to a report published May 7 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Between November 2024 and January 2025, 19 pet cats in Los Angeles County, California became severely ill after consuming commercially purchased raw milk, raw meat, or raw pet food. Nine tested positive for H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, the same strain responsible for most human H5N1 infections in recent years. Fourteen of the cats died or were euthanized.
Investigators with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) and CDC identified 139 people exposed to the infected cats, including 11 individuals from five households, 126 veterinary staff from 10 hospitals, one animal control worker that transported the deceased cats, and one from a local health department. Although 30 people reported flu-like symptoms, none tested positive for H5N1 by PCR. In April 2025, the cohort exposed were invited to participate in a serologic investigation as part of an H5N1 survey. Of the 25 volunteers that underwent serologic testing, one asymptomatic veterinary professional showed evidence of antibodies against both clade 2.3.4.4.b B3.13 and D1.1 influenza A(H5N1) viruses. The investigators noted that this veterinary professional had not used personal protective equipment (PPE) over their mouth or eyes during the exposure, did not report flu-like illness after the exposure, and reported no other known risk factors for infection
Public health officials emphasize the overall risk to the general public remains low but urge pet owners to avoid feeding cats raw animal products and recommend that veterinary professionals use appropriate PPE when treating animals with respiratory or neurologic illness that could indicate H5N1 infection.
Further Reading:
- “Serological Evidence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) in Invasive Wild Pigs in Western Canada,” OL Garcia, et al, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
- “New Agreement Brings Assurance of Flu Pandemic Preparedness to Caribbean, Latin America,” Meaghan Lee Callaghan, Infectious Disease Special Edition
- “2 European countries record new farm avian flu outbreaks,” Jackie Linden, WATTPoultry
IN OTHER NEWS
Hantavirus Outbreak News
- “Rapid risk assessment: Hantavirus (Andes virus) outbreak on international cruise ship,” Government of Canada
- “Experts wonder ‘Where is the CDC?’ as a hantavirus outbreak unfolds on a cruise ship,” Mike Stobbe, AP News
- “‘Empty and vapid’ CDC finally responds to hantavirus outbreak. But experts say it’s too little, too late,” Edward Helmore, The Guardian
- “Hantavirus Response Shows How Trump Cuts Have Compromised U.S. Preparedness,” Apoorva Mandavilli, NY Times
- “The Hantavirus Outbreak Is Resurrecting Covid-Era Misinformation Tactics,” Teddy Rosenbluth and Steven Lee Myers, NY Times
- “Hantavirus misinformation runs rampant as the US is unequipped to respond to infectious disease health scare,” Melody Schreiber, The Guardian
- “There is no vaccine for deadly hantavirus: what that means for future outbreaks,” Mohana Basu, Nature
- “How Argentina kept the hantavirus at bay during a 2019 outbreak,” Youri Benadjaoud and Ivan Pereira, ABC News
- “Argentina Races to Find Origin of Hantavirus Contagion,” Emma Bubola, NY Times
- “British paratroopers land on Tristan da Cunha for suspected hantavirus case,” Press Association, The Guardian
- “Omaha’s UNMC to quarantine, monitor 17 Americans from cruise ship hit by hantavirus,” Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner
Public Health Preparedness and Institutional Erosion
- “Trump administration cuts CDC’s key role in global program to stop HIV,” Jon Cohen, Science
- “Virologist accused of starting COVID-19 will fight U.S. ban on funding,” Jon Cohen, Science
- “Kennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence,” Christina Jewett and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, NY Times
- “KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Views on Foreign Aid and Global Health Spending,” Isabelle Valdes, Audrey Kearney, Mardet Mulugeta, Alex Montero, and Lunna Lopes, KFF
- “Ready or Not 2026: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism,” Trust for America’s Health
- “NIH grant terminations had outsized effect on minority researchers, data suggest,” Laine Bergeson, CIDRAP
- “The race to understand how rat-virus spreads,” Maeve Cullinan, Sarah Newey, and Paul Nuki, The Telegraph
Biotechnology, Biosecurity, and Emerging Threats
- “Project Anthracite: Imagery Search for Possible Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Battalions,” Sean Corbett, 38North
- “Biological Threats in the Age of Emerging Biotechnology: Proceedings of a Workshop Series,” National Academies
- “AI can design viruses, toxins and other bioweapons. How worried should we be?” Ewen Callaway, Nature
- “Rethinking Chemical Weapons Governance in the Age of AI,” Onzila Aziz, Modern Diplomacy
- “Seeing Through the Molecular Curtain,” Interview with Drew Endy, Erik Malmstrom, Hoover Institution
- “After USDA request, Indiana plant biologist locked out of lab by school,” Jeffrey Mervis, Science
Podcasts:
- “Understanding Why States Use Poison for Assassination,” Naomi Rio and Nicole Wiley, The Insider
- “Poison arsenal – The deadly return of bioweapons,” This is Not a Drill with Gavin Esler
- “When biology becomes a threat to us all,” Summit Talks with Filippa Lentzos
- “Apocalypse soon? AI could hasten bioweapons,” Economist Podcasts
NEW: Delivering the 100 Days Mission: Progress, Transition, and What Comes Next
From the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat: “Join us at the World Health Assembly to take stock of what the 100 Days Mission has achieved so far, hear from country champions and partners, and shape the conversation on how the Mission continues after the end of the IPPS mandate in 2027.
This in-person event will take place on Sunday, May 17 at 20:00 CET in Geneva. Learn more and register here.
NEW: Are we ready for the next pandemic threat?
From The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response: “Six years on from the disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has made some progress to prepare for future health threats. The amended International Health Regulations are in force. The WHO Pandemic Agreement has been adopted. The Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex negotiations continue. Collective action still commands broad support.
But is it enough? Words have not converted sufficiently to action. The hantavirus outbreak exposes some of the world’s vulnerabilities. Gaps in financing, accountability, and regional research and manufacturing capacity persist. Geopolitical shifts are reshaping international cooperation. Official development assistance from long-standing donors is contracting. And pandemic threats remain.”
This hybrid event will be held on May 19, 12:30 – 14:00. Learn more and register here.
NEW: Training Course on ‘Biotechnology Innovation and Biosecurity’
From the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit: “This training focuses on strengthening capacities in biosecurity, biosafety, and biological risk management in the context of rapid advances in biotechnology with an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to manage biothreats at the intersection of humans, animals, plants and the environment. It addresses the governance, technical, and operational dimensions of preventing, detecting, and responding to biological threats, while promoting responsible and peaceful scientific research and innovation in accordance with article X of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).”
This in-person event will be held from October 12 – 16 in New Delhi, India. Learn more and apply here.
Responding to Today’s Gaps for Tomorrow’s Health Emergencies: 2026 Ready or Not Report
From Trust for America’s Health (TFAH): “Join us for a Congressional Briefing and National Webinar on the latest information on public health emergency readiness and findings from TFAH’s recent report, Ready or Not 2026: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.
The past year alone saw the U.S. facing the most severe flu season in nearly a decade, the highest annual measles case count since 1991, and devastating weather-related emergencies. In addition, these challenges occurred alongside deep federal staffing cuts and destabilized funding to the public health system. As TFAH marks its 25th anniversary, the webinar will review the highlights from this year’s report, which measures the nation’s readiness for public health emergencies through 10 indicators of state preparedness to respond to a wide spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services.”
This webinar will be held on May 19 at 2:00 PM ET. Learn more and register here.
International Conference CBRNe Research & Innovation
From CBRNE: “The last 40 years have demonstrated that both military and civilian populations could be exposed to highly hazardous CBRNE agents following conflicts, natural outbreaks and disasters, industrial incidents or terrorist attacks. Worldwide, researchers, responders and industrial capacities have been commited to provide adapted response to these challenges. The CBRNE Research & Innovation Conference includes workshops and demonstrations of innovative materials, technologies and procedures, according to the following themes: Detection (identification), Protection (decontamination, medical countermeasures), and risk & crisis management.
This event will take place in Arcachon, France, from May 19 – 21, 2026. Learn more and RSVP here.
Biotechnology and Resilient Human Systems Workshop 2026
From the MIT Lincoln Laboratory: “The focus of the 2026 Biotechnology and Resilient Human Systems Workshop will be Preparing for Future Biological Effects. This two-day, in-person event will feature sessions highlighting the dual-use nature of biotechnology, building a resilient biosurveillance system, and developing broad medical countermeasures. The workshop will feature keynote presentations from leaders across the U.S. government highlighting critical national security challenges and opportunities created from advanced biotechnology and will also exhibit state-of-the-art research and innovations from the rapidly expanding biotechnology ecosystem.
Government and industry leaders, national security experts, UARCs, FFRDCS, national labs, entrepreneurs, and academic innovators will jointly discuss and showcase how to rapidly transition biotechnology-enabled technologies into operational capabilities that effectively address critical national security challenges.”
This in-person event will take place on June 2-3 in Lexington, MA. Learn more and register here.
From the Ground Up: Federated Biodefense
From the Atlantic Council: “The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council will host its latest meeting, surveying federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government roles, responsibilities and resources.
Non-federal governments serve on the frontlines of biodefense. As the biological threat continues to grow, those officials who tackle this topic on a daily basis require reinforcement. This meeting of the Commission will discuss the impacts of changes in federal support for state, local, tribal, and territorial biodefense activities, as well as the biodefense roles, responsibilities and investments of non-federal governments. The discussions will also touch upon the personnel, policies and programs needed to bolster preparedness for future biological threats.”
This event will take place on Thursday, June 4 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET. Further information and registration details to follow.
Public Health Agency of Canada Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Biology and Bioart Summit 2026
From PHAC: “The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) DIY Biology and Bioart Summit 2026 is the first gathering of Canadian DIY biologists and bioartists organized by PHAC since 2020. This summit will bring together these Canadian bio-innovators with PHAC biosafety and biosecurity experts to provide an opportunity to engage and discuss biosafety and biosecurity challenges and opportunities. The summit will also include a keynote presentation by an international DIY biology expert.”
This virtual event will be held from June 10 from 10:00 AM – 2:35 PM ET. Learn more and register here.
GHS 2026
From GHS: “We’re excited to officially announce that the 4th Global Health Security Conference (GHS2026) will be held in Kuala Lumpur on the 9 – 12 June, 2026!”
“Building on the incredible momentum of GHS2024 in Sydney, we look forward to bringing together the global health security community once again – this time in one of Southeast Asia’s most vibrant and dynamic cities.”
“Registration and Call for Abstracts are now live!”
Learn more, submit abstracts, and register here.
Biosecurity Simulation Exercise (BSX 2026): Laboratory Incidents & Deliberate Biothreats
From the Asia Centre for Health Security: “This table-top simulation exercise aims to enhance inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary preparedness for laboratory biosafety and biosecurity (LBB) and deliberate biothreat events (DBE). Through lectures, discussions, and structured, scenario-driven exercises, participants will explore decision-making to detect, risk-assess, and manage high-consequence biological incidents under conditions of incomplete information and unfolding events. Participants will collaborate in teams, building on expert perspectives to address issues in surveillance, diagnostics, public health response, security assessment, and risk communication.”
This in-person event will be held from August 27-28. Learn more and register here.
INTERPOL Global Biosecurity Conference 2026 – Call for Abstracts
From INTERPOL: “The 2nd INTERPOL Global Biosecurity Conference brings together law enforcement and partner agencies, biosecurity experts, and academia from different regions and backgrounds to discuss the latest developments in global biosecurity. We invite biosecurity experts, researchers and scholars to submit an abstract, subject to a selection process, to present your work during the conference. The abstract should cover one of the following topics: global biological threat landscape, indicators and early-warning for biological threats, health and law enforcement coordination, forensics, biosecurity at borders, science and technology innovation, and legal, policy and information-sharing.”
The call for abstracts is now open, and the applications are due by May 22. Learn more and apply here.
Bio-attribution Challenge
From DARPA: “Translate your bio-attribution research into national security impact. In an era of unprecedented biological data generation, the ability to rapidly determine the origin of a biological event — whether natural, accidental, or intentional — is a critical component of national security and public health. To meet the challenge of finding the “needle in a haystack” within this data deluge, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched the Bio-Attribution Challenge.
This virtual competition calls on innovators to develop a new generation of tools capable of analyzing petabyte-scale datasets in near real-time, far exceeding the capacity of current systems. The goal is to revolutionize how we identify and trace the source of biological sequences, ensuring a faster, more effective response to potential threats. Register for virtual competition to win a share of $180,000 in Prizes.”
The deadline to register is June 15. Learn more and register here.
The Pandora Report 