Dangerous Delivery: How Doctors In Geneva Handled The Hantavirus

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Geneva University Hospital was the first to identify the hantavirus strain behind an outbreak on a cruise ship in May 2026. Here's how it did it. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Dangerous delivery: how doctors in Geneva handled the hantavirus This content was published on May 15, 2026 - 09:51 6 minutes

From innovative treatments to unequal access to medicine, I cover health topics and keep an eye on Switzerland's Health Valley. I'm Swiss-Turkish, and have a background in communications, journalism and photography. Before joining SWI swissinfo, I covered technology and health at Euronews, and my work has been featured in international outlets including Fayn Press, Mediapart, Le Temps and Times of Malta.

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Swiss headlines were rife with news of the hantavirus last week, after an infected man who had been on a transatlantic cruise was hospitalised in Zurich. A total of 11 cases, including three deaths, have been reported among passengers of the MV Hondius ship since the World Health Organisation (WHO) was alerted on May 2.

Hantaviruses are a group of more than 20 viral species carried by rodents which can cause various illnesses. South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed a case on May 2. The exact variant involved was identified as the Andes strain by a lab at Geneva University Hospital (HUG) on May 5.

The discovery by HUG meant that the World Health Organization (WHO) was better able to understand the mechanisms of the virus and take appropriate measures to deal with the outbreak.

“Identifying the viral species is important to understand transmission, severity and origin,” said Francisco-Javier Perez Rodriguez, the biologist in charge of emerging viruses at the lab.

The Andes strain is the only hantavirus known to be transmitted between humans but requires close contact to do so. It can cause the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe and potentially deadly disease that affects the lungs.

From a patient sample to the WHO, Swissinfo looks at how Geneva's virology result shaped the response to a global outbreak.

How we reported the news about the Swiss hantavirus patient:

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