Hantavirus Update for Australia

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Five Aussies and one Kiwi who were aboard MV Hondius have landed in Australia and they're now quarantining.

[00:00:05]So, what's the risk for Australians? The hantavirus strain behind this recent outbreak is the Andes strain and it infects several rodent species found in South America, but fortunately not found in Australia. The only risk for us comes from overseas travelers like this group from MV Hondius. They're staying in a specialized quarantine facility just out of Perth, which was originally built in the COVID-19 pandemic. They're showing no symptoms and have tested negative for the Andes virus, but that doesn't mean the danger is over. If someone's in a very early stage of infection, there might be very low levels of virus in their body which get missed by a blood test. The Andes strain has an incubation period of up to 6 weeks, meaning it might take that long for the virus to multiply enough to cause symptoms. This group will be staying in quarantine for at least 3 weeks and previously on the ship they were in quarantine for several weeks. This is all to make sure that the risk to Australians is super low.