World braces for ‘generation three’ hantavirus cases: Expert warns we’re days from cruise passengers passing on virus – with possible first case reported in France already | 12 May 2026 | Experts have warned the first “generation-three” cases of hantavirus — which sees cruise passengers pass the disease on to the public — are likely just days away. So far, no cases have been confirmed in people who were not on board the MV Hondius, so there is no evidence that the rat-borne [or lab-generated] virus has spread beyond the confines of the ship. But that may change, following the transfer of a contact case in Brittany, northwestern France, to hospital on Tuesday morning. The potential case was identified in Concarneau, a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany, and they have been sent to the University Hospital of Rennes for further checks. Twelve Dutch medical staff have also been quarantined for six weeks, after workers in a hospital in Nijmegen did not follow strict protocols while handling a hantavirus patient’s blood and urine samples.