This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.

Watch an expert's take on the rare disease hantavirus—and why it's not of great concern to the general population

This rare zoonotic disease, transmitted to humans primarily through infected rodent droppings, urine, or saliva, is rarely spread between people. The disease was of particular concern in spring 2026, when an outbreak occurred on a 150-person cruise ship, prompting a flurry of action, including contact tracing for passengers in their home countries. The disease can be fatal. But early care—primarily oxygen support—can help patients survive.

There were more than 20 reported cruise ship outbreaks in 2025

A cruise ship outbreak is officially considered an outbreak when 3% or more of the people aboard a ship report being sick with gastrointestinal illness. It happens often enough that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a whole program just related to tracking such foodborne illness outbreaks.

Track every cruise ship in real time, with itineraries and accident history

CruiseMapper is a live global tracker covering hundreds of vessels across major cruise lines. The site layers in port schedules, cabin-level deck plans, repositioning voyages, and a searchable database of 15 incident types—fires, groundings, virus outbreaks, drug smuggling, passenger deaths, and more.

Mosquito-borne illnesses have killed captive orcas at SeaWorld

After two SeaWorld orcas died from viruses carried by mosquitoes, scientists warn that mosquito-borne illnesses may be a bigger threat to these captive animals than previously known. Captive orcas spend a lot of time stationary, close to the surface, unlike their wild counterparts. Researchers saw mosquitoes landing on the animals' backs, heads, and dorsal fins, supping on their blood.

Current US measles outbreak data from the CDC

This data portal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks current cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from measles. A 2025 outbreak in Texas and New Mexico drove US cases to their highest levels since the early 1990s.

A timeline of major pandemics from 1899–2025

Modern pandemics have been defined by the race between globalization (which increases risk) and the development of new medicines. The Great Influenza epidemic claimed some 50 million lives, and the COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 7 million. In between, diseases like Ebola, cholera, AIDS, and more have devastated communities.

See Virginia's spike in HFMD cases in 2025

The state's own tracking showed a significant jump in HFMD cases in July 2025 as compared to the prior few years, and that more people were visiting the emergency room and urgent care centers for the disease, but epidemiologists could not explain why the numbers were so high.

See when the last case of wild poliovirus was found in each country

This chart shows when wild polio cases were last reported in each country worldwide. Beyond wild poliovirus, rare outbreaks can occur related to mutated strains of oral polio vaccine.

Mapping the spread of a dangerous fungus growing in US healthcare facilities

Explore the data showing how the fungus C. auris has spread in the US, with more than 10,000 reported cases since 2016. Recommended steps to prevent infections and limit their spread have been successful in some areas, but infection control remains complicated because the fungus is often now multidrug-resistant.

Bats are uniquely suited to act as reservoirs of viruses

Some of the deadliest diseases to jump from animals to humans originate in bat species. This rich visualization explores the diversity of bats and the factors that make them efficient vectors for harboring and transmitting disease, from their long lifespans to their migration patterns.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Climate change is influencing the spread of disease

Rising temperatures and water levels are forcing animals and pathogens beyond their typical boundaries. This article and its data visualizations explore the proliferation of climate-driven diseases.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control

Clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo saw patients with Ebola symptoms months before the disease was identified. The identification lag was due to inadequate diagnostics that could not accurately or quickly identify the virus's myriad species. Contact tracing and better diagnostics will be required to tamp down the outbreak.

A Canadian tourism campaign turns every whale sighting—including ones from decades ago—into a live, crowdsourced migration biography

Humpback flukes (or tails) are as individually distinct as fingerprints, which means a single photo is enough to match a whale to its full sighting history. Every upload adds a chapter (the database goes back to the 1970s) and the site uses AI to render that data as narrative, not just data.

See how cholera spreads in a community

This animated video offers a comprehensive look at how cholera spreads. It makes clear why it's so difficult to stamp out this disease in communities around the world. It also details what steps can help control cholera.

West Nile was reported in 47 states in 2025, with more than 1,400 people severely affected

Tracking numbers from the CDC indicate that the virus spread widely that year, with more than 2,000 reported human cases and many states seeing more than 25 sickened people. More than 1,400 people had neuroinvasive cases of the disease—meaning the virus had entered the nervous system, which can cause severe, potentially life-threatening illness.

Marburg virus, related to Ebola, is also extremely deadly, and has no available vaccine.

See how Ebola tore through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia in 2014-2016.

Mapping the Tongan eruption impact

A team of scientists—with the help of an uncrewed boat remotely controlled from the UK—join forces to produce one of the clearest pictures to date of what took place underneath the water as an enormous volcano erupted near the Tongan mainland.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

See the geographic spread and incidence of malaria

This graphic shows the estimated global burden of malaria in 2025 as new cases per 1000 people at risk.

Historically, cholera has repeatedly disrupted the Hajj for Muslims

Outbreaks of the disease throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, killed thousands of religious pilgrims as they sought to complete this obligatory pilgrimage.

Interactive human migration map

Using archeological, genetic, and climate data, scientists have pieced together an outline of the human odyssey—the journey that took our species from Africa to all corners of the globe. Experience this 200,000-year migration using an interactive human migration map.

A 'holoported' medical team has been beamed into the International Space Station

In 2021, using the Microsoft HoloLens Kinect camera and custom Aexa Aerospace software, NASA's flight surgeon led a team of hologram doctors on a pioneering visit to the space station, marking a significant advancement in communication and telemedicine technologies that will be crucial for future deep-space missions.

The wonderfully named Vibrio diabolicus is a cousin of the cholera-causing bacterium

This bacterium, which belongs to the same genus as the cholera bacterium, was initially isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal fields. It was sampled from water that was scooped up during a French-American cruise in October 1991.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Advanced forensic science has helped identify killed sailors decades later

When the USS Oklahoma capsized amid the attacks, hundreds of sailors were buried within the ship's hull. Officials have used advances in forensic science to analyze DNA and dental evidence to help identify nearly 400 sailors decades after the fact.

Simulation of the coronavirus inside an aerosol droplet

A new simulation shows how the virus survives inside tiny airborne particles of water — and gives clues about how the Delta variant became dominant.

Hurricanes may kill 300 times more people than officially reported

A recent study suggests that, since 1930, more than 3.5 million people have died due to hurricanes. This incorporates the long-term effects of storms on people's health and economic well-being, contributing to thousands of premature deaths each year.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.