ECDC was notified on 2 May 2026 of a cluster of severe respiratory illness on MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise ship with passengers and crew from 23 countries, including nine EU/EEA countries. The virus has been identified as Andes hantavirus.
12926 results
On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Infographic
This infographic explains infection, prevention and control measures for patients in healthcare settings with Andes virus (ANDV) disease.
Operational support
This handbook provides an updated overview of commonly used laboratory protocols for the characterisation of SARS-CoV-2, provided by the AURORAE consortium.
Update of standard laboratory protocols for SARS-CoV-2 characterisation 2026
English (1.6 MB - PDF)
Update
On 6 March 2026, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) launched a call for experts to join a new Scientific Expert Panel (SEP) to support the development of a technical guidance on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination to protect adults for the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU/EEA).
Press release
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is deploying experts to support the response to the ongoing Ebola disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
ECDC corporate
This Administrative Decision governs the MS-track of the ECDC Fellowship Programme, field epidemiology path (EPIET) and public health microbiology path (EUPHEM), Cohort 2026.
Administrative Decision on MS-track Cohort 2026
English (528.25 KB - PDF)
News
On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Assessment
This document aims to provide advice on infection prevention and control (IPC) measures for healthcare facilities providing care to patients with suspected or confirmed ANDV disease.
Rapid scientific advice on infection, prevention and control measures for patients in healthcare settings with Andes virus (ANDV) disease
English (333.06 KB - PDF)
News
On 15 May, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province. Preliminary laboratory results indicate a non-Zaire ebolavirus species, with further analysis ongoing.
Public health guidance
This document provides practical considerations for public health authorities in European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries on laboratory testing for Andes virus (ANDV), with a focus on asymptomatic high-risk contacts of cases from the cruise ship MV Hondius.
Rapid scientific advice on laboratory testing of Andes virus (ANDV) for high-risk contacts under the MV Hondius outbreak
English (606.11 KB - PDF)
Presentation
Slides answering the most frequently asked questions on hantavirus.
Video
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) held a press conference in Stockholm on 13 May 2026 to provide an update on the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius.
Answers to common questions including information on the risk to Europe, hantavirus and Andesvirus, and what ECDC is doing to help control the outbreak.
Infographic
This infographic describes how to self-quarantine at home for asymptomatic contacts.
Surveillance and monitoring
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 9-13 May 2026, and includes updates on avian influenza, human cases of swine influenza, mpox, and hantavirus.
Communicable disease threats report, 9-13 May 2026, Week 20
English (728.34 KB - PDF)
ECDC regularly assesses new evidence on variants detected through epidemic intelligence, rules-based genomic variant screening or other scientific sources.
Surveillance and monitoring
This is the final report of the survey of carbapenem- and/or colistinresistant Enterobacterales, which details the results of the epidemiological, phenotypic and genomic analyses of the K. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates.
Results of the survey of carbapenem- and/or colistinresistant Enterobacterales, 2019
English (8.08 MB - PDF)
News
A major European survey marks a significant milestone in the effort to control antimicrobial resistance (AMR), providing the most comprehensive genomic picture to date of carbapenem- and/or colistin-resistant Enterobacterales (CCRE) across hospitals in Europe.
Every month ECDC provides detailed epidemiological overview of the worldwide transmission of mpox in its weekly threat report.
The Advisory Forum advises the Director of the Centre on the quality of the scientific work undertaken by ECDC.
General disease information for public health experts on chikungunya.
Press release
On 10 May, the cruise ship MV Hondius arrived at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Passengers and crew continue to disembark and to be medically evacuated to their countries of origin. At disembarkation, they are all considered high-risk and repatriated, whether symptomatic or not, through non-commercial flights.
Assessment
This report presents the results of the eleventh round of the external quality assessment (EQA-11) scheme for Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) typing in the EU/EEA, organised for national public health reference laboratories
(NPHRLs) providing data to the Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses Network (FWD-Net), managed by ECDC.
Eleventh external quality assessment scheme for Listeria monocytogenes typing in EU/EEA and EU enlargement countries, 2024
English (4.48 MB - PDF)