Melike Pala
21 May 2026•Update: 21 May 2026
European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas said Thursday that the bloc is intensifying efforts to develop medical countermeasures against hantavirus infections.
Tzitzikostas noted that the current risk to the general population remains low, as he addressed a European Parliament plenary session on preparedness for health emergencies.
"There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment against hantaviruses in the European Union yet, which is why we are actively exploring several avenues to protect citizens against this priority threat through our medical countermeasure strategy and the Horizon Europe program. We are advancing promising candidate vaccines and therapeutics against hantaviruses," he said.
Tzitzikostas underlined that although suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, continued vigilance is required due to the virus's incubation period.
"Given the long incubation period of this virus, it is possible that more cases are detected in the coming weeks," he warned.
The Commission, he said, is working closely with national health authorities through the Health Security Committee and other EU mechanisms to ensure coordination, information sharing and rapid-response capacity.
A hantavirus outbreak began in late April while the Hondius cruise ship was carrying around 150 passengers and crew from nearly 30 countries.
A Dutch couple and a German woman on the ship are among the three passengers who died from the virus.
According to the World Health Organization, 11 cases had been reported by May 13, including eight confirmed infections.
The Andean hantavirus is mainly spread through contact with rodent droppings. Unlike coronavirus, it does not spread easily between people and usually requires prolonged close contact.
