Methodology & sources

Each case is mapped to one of the three standard WHO categories, with the evidence threshold required to enter that bucket.

• Confirmed — Laboratory detection of Andes orthohantavirus RNA by RT-PCR ordocumented IgM/IgG seroconversion by a reference lab (CDC, Pasteur Institute, INEI-ANLIS).
• Probable — Clinically compatible case (hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome) andepidemiological link to a confirmed case (same cabin, same group, extended on-board contact), without PCR confirmation yet available.
• Suspected — Compatible symptoms reported by a passenger or traced contact, without a formal epidemiological link or laboratory result.
• Deaths — Any fatal outcome among confirmed or probable cases. The case-fatality rate (CFR) is computed against confirmed + probable.

When two sources publish different numbers, we defer to the highest-ranked source in the list below. The dashboard count reflects the most authoritative assessment available at the timestamp shown in "Last updated".

1. WHO Disease Outbreak News (DON)— international reference. Published after validation by national health authorities.
2. ECDC — rapid risk assessments for the EU/EEA, contact-tracing updates.
3. US CDC — travel notices and US contact data.
4. National Ministries of Health— for each affected country (NL, GB, DE, ZA, AR, etc.), only when an official statement is issued.
5. Established news media(Reuters, AP, Le Monde, BBC, ABC) — used only for contextual feed items, never to move the counters.

We never use social media, forums, or community trackers as a primary source for case counts.

The pipeline polls WHO, ECDC, and CDC pages hourly via a pg_cron job on the database. Every run is journaled to thescrape_logs table.

The "Last updated" indicator in the header is the most recent timestamp from the outbreak_totals table. During active outbreak phases, authorities typically publish updates once or twice per day; expect a real-world lag of a few hours between an event and its reflection here.

• Counts are estimates derived from public sources; they do not replace each authority's internal operational database.
• Countries without an official communication appear as "monitoring" with zero confirmed cases, even when contacts are being traced.
• Retrospective reclassifications by authorities (probable → confirmed) are applied without historical versioning for now.
• HantaTracker is an independent surveillance dashboard. For any medical decision, follow guidance from your local health authority only.

To cite this dashboard in an article, report, or academic publication, use the following format:

HantaTracker (2026). Surveillance dashboard — MV Hondius Andes hantavirus outbreak. Accessed 12 May 2026. https://hantatracker.com

For press inquiries, reach out via the subscribe form at the bottom of the main dashboard.