Texas reports state’s 1st human case of West Nile virus this year
Female Aedes mosquitoes, including the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti), are observed feeding on human blood in Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on May 01, 2026. These mosquitoes are known to transmit diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, and West Nile virus. Rising temperatures are contributing to their survival. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(TEXAS) — Texas health officials on Tuesday confirmed the state’s first human West Nile virus case this year, an indication that mosquito season is beginning in the United States.
Public health officials have been warning that rising temperatures have allowed mosquitoes to thrive, increasing the risk of the diseases that they spread, including West Nile.
Last year, the U.S. reported 2,076 cases of West Nile across 47 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorado had the highest number of cases (285), followed by Illinois, Texas, Minnesota and California.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the patient was a resident of Harris County, which includes Houston, but no other information about the patient was made available.
“West Nile and other mosquito-borne illnesses are a fact of life in Texas in the warmer months, and all Texans should take precautions against mosquito bites to stay safe and healthy,” Texas DSHS Commissioner Dr. Jennifer A. Shuford said in a press release. “By removing standing water around the home, people can eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and reduce insect populations in their area.”
Since 1999, West Nile virus has killed about 2,900 Americans, according to the CDC. Cases are typically reported between June and October, historically peaking in August.
The virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Risk increases with older age, certain medical conditions — such as cancer, high blood pressure and kidney disease — and a weakened immune system.
Symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea and a rash. Severe illness can affect the central nervous system and result in hospitalization or death, according to the CDC.
There is currently no vaccine that protects against West Nile virus, and preventing mosquito bites is the best way to protect yourself, the CDC says.
No specific treatments are available. Doctors recommend patients rest, drink fluids and take pain medication to help relieve some symptoms. People with severe illness may need to be hospitalized for supportive treatment, according to the CDC.
The CDC says most people infected with West Nile virus are believed to have lifelong immunity. However, some with weakened immune systems or certain conditions may have their immunity wane over time.
A hantavirus is a virus found in the urine, saliva or excrement of deer mice and certain other infected wild rodents (Icy Macload/Getty Images)
(LONDON and BELGRADE, Serbia) — Three people have been evacuated off of the MV Hondius, a cruise ship with a suspected hantavirus cluster, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
WHO officials in Cape Verde told ABC News that the patients were to be transferred to ambulances waiting on the shore to receive them. The three were then to be taken to an airport, where they were expected to board a special medevac flight to the Netherlands.
“WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the WHO, said on social media, where he confirmed the evacuations.
“Monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities,” he added.
He said that “the overall public health risk remains low.”
The WHO said on Wednesday that eight suspected cases of hantavirus were recorded among passengers on the ship, an increase from the seven reported on Tuesday. Three of the cases had been confirmed by lab testing, WHO said.
“Swiss authorities have confirmed a case of hantavirus identified in a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship,” the WHO said on social media on Wednesday. “He had responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event, and presented himself to a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, and is receiving care.”
There have been three deaths among the reported cases, including a married couple from the Netherlands, one of whom was confirmed to have been infected with hantavirus, authorities said.
Cape Verde officials said on Tuesday that the vessel was expected to sail to the Spanish island of Tenerife, where Spanish health authorities were to take over further investigations, including lab testing and clinical assessments, particularly for older passengers.
The leader of the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa, said on Wednesday that the regional government was opposed to allowing the luxury cruise ship to dock at Tenerife.
“This decision is not based on any technical criteria, nor is there sufficient information to reassure the public or guarantee their safety,” Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canary Islands told radio station COPE, according to Reuters.
Clavijo said on social media that he had requested a meeting with the Spanish prime minister to discuss the ship. He added that the Canary Islands “always acts with responsibility, but it cannot accept decisions taken behind the backs of the Canary Islands institutions and without sufficient information to the population.”
WHO officials earlier on Wednesday said the three evacuated people were to be transferred to planes bound for both the Netherlands and Tenerife, but later updated the plan so that all would be sent to the Netherlands, officials told ABC News.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Bottles of children’s ibuprofen, made for Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., are being recalled due to the potential presence of a foreign substance. (NIH)
(NEW YORK) — Nearly 90,000 bottles of children’s ibuprofen are being voluntarily recalled due to the potential presence of a foreign substance.
According to a notice from the Food and Drug Administration, Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. received complaints from customers who reported “a gel-like mass and black particles” in the drug products.
Four-ounce (120 ml) bottles of Children’s Ibuprofen Oral Suspension are impacted by the recall. The FDA said the children’s medications, intended for pain relief from the common cold, flu, sore throat, headache and toothache and a fever reducer, were manufactured in India for Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
Recalled children’s ibuprofen products have lot codes of: 7261973A and 7261974A and bear an expiration date of 01/31/2027, according to the federal agency.
The FDA is classifying the recall as a Class II, which the agency defines as anything where the “use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
ABC News has reached out to Taro Pharmaceuticals and its parent company Sun Pharma for comment.
The logo of the WHO is seen on panel in front of the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 23, 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Robert Hradil/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — An epidemiologist at the World Health Organization (WHO) said that there may be some person-to-person spread in the suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship.
As of Monday, there have been seven cases reported aboard the MV Hondius, of which two are laboratory-confirmed and five are suspected. Among those seven, there have been three deaths, including a married couple from the Netherlands, one of whom has been confirmed to have been infected with hantavirus.
“We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that’s happening among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who’ve shared cabins, [et cetera],” Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist and director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management at the WHO, said during a press conference Tuesday.
“So again, our assumption is that has happened, and that’s why we are operating and working with the ship to make sure that anyone who is symptomatic, anyone caring for patients, is wearing full personal protective equipment,” she added.
Van Kerkhove noted that hantaviruses normally don’t transmit from person to person because it’s a “rodent infection.” Patients typically become infected when they come into contact with rodent urine, droppings or saliva, according to the WHO.
The initial patients who fell ill may have become infected before they boarded the ship, Van Kerkhove added.
Symptoms of hantavirus infections sometimes do not start until eight weeks after contact with the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The WHO is working under the assumption that the strain of hantavirus in the suspected outbreak is the Andes virus, which historically has been shown to potentially transmit between people, although sequencing is still ongoing, according to Van Kerkhove.
In a post on its website, the WHO said the onset of illnesses aboard the MV Hondius occurred between April 6 and April 28, with patients experiencing fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock.
“The outbreak is being managed through coordinated international response, and includes in-depth investigations, case isolation and care, medical evacuation and laboratory investigations,” the WHO wrote in the post.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreysus wrote in a post on X Tuesday that the infection risk to the global population is low and that the agency will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.
Timeline of cases
The first suspected hantavirus case occurred in a 70-year-old male passenger from the Netherlands who developed fever, headache and mild diarrhea on April 6, according to the WHO and South African health officials.
On April 11, the passenger developed respiratory distress and died on board the ship the same day. His body was removed from the ship to the British territory of St. Helena on April 24. No microbiological tests were performed on the man, according to the WHO.
Also on April 24, the male passenger’s 69-year-old wife developed gastrointestinal symptoms, health officials said. Her health rapidly declined while on a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 25 and she died upon arrival to an emergency department the next day, the WHO said.
On Monday, May 4, laboratory testing confirmed that the wife was infected with hantavirus.
Health workers have begun working to identify anyone who may have come into contact with the couple. According to the WHO, the couple had traveled in South America, including Argentina, before they boarded the cruise ship on April 1.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Van Kerkhove said officials suspect the couple was infected with hantavirus before boarding the ship.
“The initial patients, the initial case and his wife, they joined the boat in Argentina. And with the timing of the incubation period of hantavirus, which can be anywhere from one to six weeks, our assumption is that they were infected off the ship, perhaps doing some activities there,” she said.
A British passenger started developing symptoms on April 24, including shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia, according to the WHO and South African health officials.
His condition worsened and he was medically evacuated from Ascension, another British territory, to South Africa on April 27, where he is currently hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Laboratory testing confirmed hantavirus infection over the weekend, the WHO said.
Another passenger, an adult female, began experiencing symptoms on April 28, including a general feeling of being unwell, according to the WHO. She later presented with pneumonia and died on May 2. Oceanwide Expeditions, which operates the cruise ship, previously revealed that the patient was a German national.
In addition, there are three suspected cases currently onboard the MV Hondius reporting high fever and/or gastrointestinal symptoms, the WHO said. The ship is currently off the coast of Cape Verde, where medical teams in the area are evaluating the patients and collecting additional specimens for testing, according to the WHO.
Van Kerkhove said the highest priority is to medically evacuate the symptomatic individuals onboard the ship so they receive the care they need.
“The plan now is for the ship to continue on to the Canary Islands. We’re working with Spanish authorities who will welcome the ship, have said that they will welcome the ship, to do a full investigation, a full epidemiological investigation, full disinfection of the ship, and of course to assess the risk of the passengers that are actually on board,” she said.
