Three Dead from Hantavirus in Venezuela, Two Additional Deaths Under Investigation

On July 21, 2026, Venezuela’s Health Ministry confirmed three hantavirus deaths in Anzoátegui and said two deaths of health professionals in Barinas remained under investigation and were unrelated to the confirmed cases. The ministry said it had found no scientific evidence of person-to-person transmission in Venezuela and described the incidents as isolated. Separately, the Venezuelan Medical Federation disputed the government’s account, criticized a lack of transparency, and said the epidemiological situation was more serious than official figures suggested.

Hantavirus deaths in Venezuela

• ▪The Venezuelan Health Ministry is investigating the deaths of two health professionals in the western state of Barinas to determine if hantavirus was the cause.
• ▪The Venezuelan Medical Federation reported that the three hantavirus victims in Anzoátegui belonged to the same family from the rural municipality of Miranda.
• ▪Venezuela's Ministry of Health confirmed on July 21, 2026, that three people died from confirmed hantavirus infections in the eastern state of Anzoátegui.
• ▪The Venezuelan Health Ministry stated that the deaths in Barinas are isolated, localized events with no epidemiological link to the hantavirus outbreak in Anzoátegui.

Rodent-borne disease transmission

• ▪Hantaviruses are carried and spread to humans mainly by rodents, such as rats and mice, through contact with their urine, feces, or saliva.
• ▪The Venezuelan Health Ministry stated there is no scientific evidence of human-to-human hantavirus transmission within Venezuela.
• ▪The World Health Organization estimates that between 10,000 and 100,000 human cases of hantavirus occur globally each year.

Venezuelan government response

• ▪The Venezuelan Health Ministry established an epidemiological containment zone in Anzoátegui to identify potential contacts and monitor the situation.
• ▪The Venezuelan Medical Federation criticized the health ministry's lack of transparency and urged swift action, asserting the epidemiological situation is more severe than reported.

Andes hantavirus cruise ship outbreak

• ▪A hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed Argentina on April 1, 2026, resulted in three deaths and 13 infections.
• ▪The World Health Organization declared the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak officially over in early July 2026.
• ▪The cruise ship outbreak was caused by the Andes hantavirus strain, which is the only variant known to spread through close human-to-human contact.

Argentina investigation into outbreak origin

• ▪Argentine scientists ruled out the southern city of Ushuaia as the source of the cruise ship outbreak after testing local rodents for the Andes hantavirus.
• ▪Investigators from Argentina and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ruled out Mendoza province as the source after finding no hantavirus in local rodents.