Number of Suspected Hantavirus Cases in Italy Increases to Six Including an Argentinian Tourist That Has Been Hospitalized
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team May 13, 2026 52 minutes ago
Medical News: Italian health authorities are intensifying surveillance efforts after the number of suspected hantavirus cases in the country climbed to six, with the latest case involving an Argentinian tourist hospitalized in Messina with pneumonia-like symptoms after arriving from Buenos Aires on April 30. The woman’s biological samples were transferred by Italy’s NAS health police unit to Rome’s renowned Spallanzani Infectious Diseases Hospital for urgent analysis. She had nothing to do with the cruise ship MV Hondius or any of its passengers.
Italian authorities intensify nationwide monitoring after six suspected hantavirus cases emerge, including an Argentinian
tourist hospitalized with pneumonia symptoms in Sicily
The growing concern is that travelers from South American countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile etc might be carriers of the Andes Hantavirus. This follows a chain of investigations linked to international air travel and exposure to individuals connected to a deadly hantavirus cluster associated with the polar expedition ship MV Hondius. Authorities are now tracking multiple passengers and contacts across Italy while maintaining that the situation remains under control.
Argentinian Tourist Under Investigation
According to the Italian Ministry of Health, the tourist had traveled from an endemic region in Argentina before flying to Rome and later continuing to Sicily, where she was hospitalized after developing respiratory complications. Her test samples are being examined alongside those from a 25-year-old sailor from Calabria who had brief contact with a Dutch woman later confirmed to have died from hantavirus-related complications.
The Calabrian sailor, who remains in self-isolation, had been aboard the same KLM-linked travel route involving the infected Dutch passenger. Officials clarified that while early reports suggested he might be transferred to Rome, only his biological samples were sent to Spallanzani Hospital for analysis. Lazio Region President Francesco Rocca explained that confusion arose from internal hospital communications and confirmed the patient would remain in Calabria under monitoring.
British Tourist Quarantined in Milan
In another development, a British tourist was traced and quarantined at Milan’s Sacco Hospital after UK authorities informed Italy that he had traveled on the same St. Helena-to-Johannesburg flight as the wife of the outbreak’s first fatal victim. A companion traveling with him was also isolated as a precautionary measure.
Italian authorities have now expanded monitoring measures nationwide. The Ministry of Health has instructed Maritime, Air, and Border Health Offices to increase vigilance regarding suspicious illnesses among travelers arriving by aircraft and ships. Emergency rooms, infectious disease units, pulmonology departments, and microbiology laboratories across Sicily and other regions have also been alerted.
This
Medical News report notes that officials are carefully balancing heightened surveil
lance with efforts to avoid unnecessary panic. Prevention director Mara Campitiello stated that Italy had strengthened existing protocols and raised alert levels out of “maximum caution.”
International Concerns Grow Around Hantavirus Cluster
The World Health Organization has confirmed at least nine cases linked to the outbreak connected to the MV Hondius expedition departing from Argentina. Hantavirus is typically spread through exposure to infected rodents, although rare human-to-human transmission has been documented in certain strains found in South America.
Symptoms often begin one to eight weeks after exposure and initially resemble influenza, including fever, muscle aches, fatigue, and respiratory distress. Severe cases can progress rapidly into hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which carries a high fatality rate.
Authorities in Veneto reported reassuring news after a South African patient under observation tested negative for the virus. Another Italian seafarer from Torre del Greco remains in quarantine but continues to show no symptoms linked to hantavirus infection.
Italian health authorities insist there is currently no evidence of a pandemic threat. However, the expanding number of suspected cases and the lengthy incubation period are forcing officials to maintain aggressive monitoring, contact tracing, and laboratory testing. Experts warn that additional cases may still emerge due to delayed symptom onset among exposed travelers, making continued international coordination and rapid detection measures critical in containing the outbreak without triggering widespread public alarm.
References:
https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/mondo/2026/05/12/il-ministero-effettuato-il-test-hantavirus-su-una-turista-ricoverata-a-messina_8fb7c143-0f00-4339-a53d-82a9971d394a.html
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/italian-hospital-screen-samples-man-hantavirus-quarantine-2026-05-12/
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