Passengers are sprayed with disinfectant by Spanish government officials before boarding a plane after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026.

Passengers from virus-stricken cruise fly to home countries

A New Zealander was due to depart with four Australian citizens and one permanent resident.

6:32am

5:11

Nicole Birch has end-stage kidney disease.

Move to Australia, woman needing life-saving transplant told

Nicole Birch told TVNZ's You, Me and Aussie special that she requires a kidney donation, but her chances of getting one aren't good in NZ.

6:00am

1:32

Michaela Yee.

'Space to cry': Mum backs campaign for South Island’s sickest babies

A Canterbury mum whose five children all needed neonatal intensive care said expanding the unit could spare other families her ordeal.

Monday 7:32pm

Members of the New Zealand Defence Force (file image).

Veteran wins appeal for brain cancer to be treated as service-related

New Zealand army veteran Bob Pearce was deployed to Iraq in 2017 where potentially carcinogenic burn pits were ablaze 24/7.

Monday 7:30pm

The ship's operator said one New Zealander was among the 30 passengers who disembarked on a remote South Atlantic Island. 

Ministry says NZ is prepared for Kiwi returning from hantavirus cruise

While most of the passengers had since flown home under varying isolation rules, the New Zealander is due to depart at 4am tomorrow.

Monday 4:57pm

5:11

Passengers are disembarked from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Kiwi passenger awaits evacuation from hantavirus-hit cruise ship

The New Zealander is set to be flown out on an Australian repatriation flight as the infected vessel docks in Tenerife and evacuations get underway.

Monday 6:55am

Why supplements aren't a shortcut to healthy ageing

Why supplements aren't a shortcut to healthy ageing

The use of dietary supplements has increased sharply in recent years.

Monday 6:00am

Maria Wortman-Dabrowska said it was a "proper shock" to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2014.

Dancer's back pain became 12-year cancer battle, now she needs treatment in China

The 56-year-old plans to undergo CAR-T cell treatment in China later this year.

Monday 6:00am

The head of the World Health Organisation sought today to reassure residents of the Spanish island where passengers of a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship are expected to be evacuated.

Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship arrives at Tenerife

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said it was receiving regular updates on the New Zealanders who may have been exposed to the virus.

Sun, May 10

The ship's operator said one New Zealander was among the 30 passengers who disembarked on a remote South Atlantic Island. 

Some key information still unknown about hantavirus outbreak

The vessel is expected to reach the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, early Sunday.

Sun, May 10

Does eating small, frequent meals boost your metabolism and aid weight loss?

Does eating small, frequent meals boost your metabolism and aid weight loss?

Nutritionist Claire Turnbull examines five common beliefs around food and asks, fact or fiction?

Sun, May 10

A passenger checks his camera inside his cabin on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026.

Aboard the hantavirus-hit ship, passengers fear what awaits back home

“You go onto social media – they want to dynamite the boat. They want to sink the boat,” a Spanish man on the ship told media.

Sat, May 9

The MV Hondius cruise ship is anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde

Spain prepares as hantavirus-hit ship heads for Canary Islands

Authorities say passengers will be taken to a "completely isolated, cordoned-off area”.

Sat, May 9

File photo.

Probiotics: what are we swallowing and what do they actually do?

Almost one in 20 adults are taking probiotics: typically those of us with higher educational levels, higher incomes and better diets, writes expert Berenice Langdon.

Sat, May 9

An aerial view of the MV Hondius Dutch cruise ship anchored in the Atlantic off Cape Verde, Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

I've investigated a hantavirus outbreak. Here's what I can tell you

An expert shares his knowledge as the cruise ship cluster of hantavirus cases continues.

Fri, May 8

Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Two NZers on cruise ship stricken with hantavirus, one still onboard

The ship's operator said one New Zealander was among the 30 passengers who disembarked on a remote South Atlantic Island.

Fri, May 8

An aerial view of the MV Hondius Dutch cruise ship anchored in the Atlantic off Cape Verde, Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

Timeline: How the rare hantavirus cruise ship outbreak unfolded

Three passengers have died in the outbreak — a Dutch couple and a German national — and several others are sick.

Fri, May 8

Rachel McGillan Whangārei Youth Space Clinical Manager

'Loss of one life is too many': Crisis support launched for Northland youth

In response to a damning report into a suicide cluster, $1.7 million has been announced to open a youth acute respite service and three additional youth suicide prevention coordination roles.

Fri, May 8

A nurse has detailed a near-fatal attack by a patient in respite care, which included being stabbed, burned, and held captive by a patient who threatened to kill her.

'Threatened to kill me': Nurse stabbed, burned, held captive by patient

A nurse’s near-fatal attack and a psychiatrist punched mid-assessment expose the growing threat of violence against Kiwi healthcare workers.

Fri, May 8

The MV Hondius cruise ship is anchored at a port in Praia, Cape Verde

Hantavirus on the rise in Argentina, where stricken cruise ship began journey

Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise.

Thu, May 7

Health workers in protective gear arrive to evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Patients evacuated to Europe from cruise ship with hantavirus outbreak

Footage showed health workers in protective gear evacuating three passengers, including the ship's doctor.

Thu, May 7

Should you test for flu at home if you're feeling unwell?

Should you test for flu at home if you're feeling unwell?

You're “coming down with something”, maybe you have a scratchy throat and body aches - should you test?

Thu, May 7

A fertility lab technician (file image).

IVF clinic embryo mix-up in Victoria leads to trauma lawsuit

A good Samaritan couple who donated their embryos claim they suffered serious psychiatric injury as a result of the bungled implantation.

Wed, May 6

The University of Auckland study - which pulled together research from around the world - found 81% of 58 studies showed at least one negative link between screen use and the brain's executive function, or management system.

Kids' screen use linked to long-term attention, self-control problems - study

Lead researcher Claire Reid said the study found "a really clear pattern" that higher or problematic screen time predicted difficulties in attention and focus, planning, impulse control.

Wed, May 6

Health workers get off the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, a cruise ship carrying nearly 150 people as it remains off Cape Verde on Monday, May 4, 2026 after three passengers died and several others fell seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak.

Deserted decks and lounges: Eerie footage from onboard MV Hondius

Footage from aboard the ship shows deserted decks and gathering areas, medical teams in protective gear, and a still landscape ahead.

Wed, May 6