Andes virus reaches Europe: a narrative review on clinical challenges, diagnostic gaps and public health preparedness, 2026
Giuseppe Sberna, Bernadett Pályi, Klara Sondén, Eliana Specchiarello, Aleksandra Pettke, Guilherme Dias de Melo, Silvia Meschi, Fabrizio Carletti, Chammiran Daniel, Zoltan Kis, Hervé Bourhy, Fabrizio Maggi, Johan Aarum, Jonas Klingström, Francesca ColavitaBACKGROUND
Up to 2 July 2026, a total of 13 cases of Andes virus (ANDV) including three deaths were reported in connection to an outbreak on the cruise ship m/v Hondius , which departed from Argentina in April and subsequently travelled to Europe to evacuate the passengers. This event prompted all European health authorities to take action to limit the spread of the virus.
AIM
To synthesise current knowledge on ANDV, with particular attention on laboratory diagnosis and capability gaps.
METHODS
A literature search on ANDV was conducted, with a focus on human infection, transmission, outbreak investigations, countermeasures and diagnostics. To provide context for the ship-linked outbreak, updates from official public health sources, including the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control were used. Moreover, activities by European Union Public Health Reference Laboratories for Emerging, Rodent-borne and Zoonotic Viral Pathogens (EURL-PH-ERZV) were briefly presented.
RESULTS
Andes virus is unique among hantaviruses because of sustained person-to-person transmission. Diagnosis relies on integration of clinical and epidemiological information with molecular detection of viral RNA or serological evidence. At the time of the outbreak, European diagnostic preparedness was generally well established, but important gaps remained prompting rapid support from the EURL-PH-ERZV.
CONCLUSIONS
The recent event demonstrated how a geographically restricted zoonotic infection can pose public health challenges beyond endemic areas. This highlights the need for strong collaboration between clinical services, public health authorities and reference laboratories to strengthen surveillance, early detection, risk assessment and diagnostic preparedness for emerging pathogens.