The Spanish Ministerio de Sanidad is currently monitoring six close contacts in connection with a confirmed case of Andes hantavirus . All remain symptom-free and are in home quarantine, according to the authorities. This is stated in a situation report from the Centro de Coordinación de Alertas y Emergencias Sanitarias (CCAES) dated 10 August 2026. The Ministry rates the immediate risk to the general population as “extremely low”.
The index case is a French-Argentine national who, according to the authorities, travelled through France in the second half of July and was then isolated in Spain. The pathogen was identified as Andes hantavirus, a variant circulating in South America for which rare human-to-human transmission has been described. The authorities stress that such transmission occurs mainly through close and prolonged contact and remains unusual overall.
According to the report, two of the people being monitored travelled with the patient on the flight Santiago de Chile–Madrid on 18 July. They are being cared for by the health authorities in Castilla y León and in Community of Madrid respectively. Two other contacts were on the Madrid–Bordeaux flight on the same aircraft on 19 July; their case was reported through the relevant French authorities. These contacts are observing their quarantine in Catalonia . At the time of the report, microbiological tests to investigate the named contacts further were still pending; investigations are being conducted in accordance with Spain’s current protocol for handling hantavirus cases and their contacts.
Andes hantavirus is generally transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their excreta. According to the World Health Organization, human-to-human transmission of the Andes virus has also been documented, mainly in household settings and through close contact, although it remains rare. Infection can lead to severe hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. In Spain, current measures are limited to tracing and closely monitoring the identified contacts, and laboratory testing for possible infections. The competent authorities are updating their situation reports regularly as new test results become available.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).