BE READY coordinates European research response to Andes hantavirus outbreak
Responding to the May 2026 Andes Hantavirus Outbreak
In early May 2026, a cluster of severe respiratory illness aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius was formally notified to WHO and ECDC. On 6 May, the causative agent was confirmed as Andes hantavirus (ANDV) — a rare but potentially fatal pathogen previously associated with South America. Within days, cases had been reported across multiple European countries, underscoring the speed at which an emerging threat can cross borders.
The outbreak is also a reminder that research preparedness must remain active beyond high-profile pandemic threats. Pandemic preparedness is most useful when it stays ever-warm: active before, during, and after a crisis.
BE READY, the European Partnership for Pandemic Preparedness, activated its cross-national coordination mechanisms immediately. Drawing on the collaboration infrastructure built since January 2026 and a network of partners spanning 27 countries, the partnership is now playing an active role in aligning European research priorities and supporting the international response.
On 22 May, 100 BE READY partners met online to initiate cross-country alignment of research priorities in response to the ANDV outbreak. Discussions covered common priorities, gaps, coordination needs, and national funding mechanisms. A survey is currently open to collect partner input.
This work is closely connected to the prioritisation effort led by the WHO Bunyavirales Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC), ensuring consistency between European and international research responses.
Three working groups are already engaged across the BE READY ecosystem. WP10 is mapping preclinical capacities for hantavirus across the partnership, in close collaboration with the European Medicines Agency. WP11 is working with ECDC to support real-time, consolidated contact tracing across countries. WP12 has been called upon to coordinate the NAVIS study — a prospective observational study on the natural history of Andes virus infection, based on an internationally harmonised protocol developed with WHO and ISARIC.
The partnership has also aligned research priorities across six interconnected workstreams reflecting BE READY’s One Health approach: animal reservoirs, transmission dynamics, clinical evidence, diagnosis and care, tools development, and societal response. Findings will feed into the BE READY Pandemic Preparedness and Response Observatory, tracking Research and Innovation efforts across EU Member States and Associated Countries.
This is the scenario BE READY was built for — a threat that emerges without warning, crosses borders rapidly, and requires a coordinated scientific response that no single country can mount alone.