JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – May 11, 2026 – Hantavirus
“Eighteen U.S. cruise passengers returned to the U.S. early Monday, after weeks aboard the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak, U.S. health officials confirmed. The Americans disembarked the cruise in the Canary Islands on Sunday and boarded a medical repatriation flight, arranged by the U.S. government, bound for Nebraska.
The Dutch-flagged cruise ship departed from southern Argentina on April 1, and followed an itinerary across the South Atlantic with multiple stops in remote islands. Three of the passengers have died since the outbreak began.
Sixteen of the U.S. passengers remain in Nebraska, including one passenger who tested “mildly” positive for hantavirus and is staying in biocontainment at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Two American passengers continued on to Atlanta — a couple, one of whom is showing symptoms —where they are staying in biocontainment in a specialized facility at Emory University, a U.S. health official said at a press conference Monday.
Also on Monday, a French woman tested positive for hantavirus, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said.
That brings the case count for the hantavirus outbreak to at least nine, including three deaths, according to the World Health Organization on Monday.” (1)
“The American passengers ranged in age from their late 20s to their 80s, health officials said. One is a dual U.S.-British citizen. It was not clear from which states the 18 passengers had come, but New York officials confirmed that three were residents of the state, including one from New York City.
At some point, they may be able leave their medical centers to continue quarantines at home, depending on how they are doing, according to Captain Brendan Jackson, acting director of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. He said that each would have an “individualized decision plan.”
Officials gave no time frame for when passengers might be able to consider leaving.
“The passenger in biocontainment was in a setting more like a hospital, according to Dr. Angela Hewlett, director of that unit, who said that the person was “doing well.”
“They currently do not have any symptoms and have a good appetite,” Dr. Hewlett said at the news conference on Monday.”
“Captain Jackson said that health officials had described the passenger in biocontainment as “mildly” positive because only one of the two specimens collected from that person had indicated hantavirus.
He said that the tests did not deliver clear yes-or-no answers, adding, “There’s sort of a range in where they can fall.”” (2)
“It was unclear how long everyone would need to stay. But Admiral Brian Christine, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Hu”man Services, said at a news conference on Monday that the situation was under control. “The risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low,” said the admiral, who is also a medical doctor.
There are no targeted treatments or widely available vaccines for the virus, which has a long incubation period: 42 days.”
“At some point, they may be able leave their medical centers to continue quarantines at home, depending on how they are doing, according to Captain Brendan Jackson, acting director of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. He said that each would have an “individualized decision plan.”
Officials gave no time frame for when passengers might be able to consider leaving.” (3)
“Health leaders say these passengers likely will not be here for long.
“Right now, the passengers who are all in the assessment phase, they will be here for a few days while we talk about what happens next. They certainly have the option to stay here for the entire 42-day period, if that’s what they feel is the safest and most effective option for them,” said Dr. Brendan Jackson, acting director of high consequence pathogens and pathology at the CDC.
For most, that likely means returning home to self-monitor for up to 42 days.
The 16th passenger tested positive on the ship but is symptom-free. They are in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, where they will be monitored until they are not infectious.
There were two more passengers on the plane that flew to Omaha. One of them has symptoms. They have been transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Medical leaders say this disease’s infection rate is relatively low, but they are taking great care out of an abundance of caution.
“These are very aggressive measures, but we do think being able to provide these can change outcomes. And that’s the importance of being close to this type of care and being able to provide that type of critical care should they need it,” said Dr. Angela Hewlett, medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.”” (4)
1.U.S. cruise passengers arrive in the U.S. after one tests positive for hantavirus, by Pien Huang, https://www.npr.org/2026/05/10/nx-s1-5817578/hantavirus-cruise-ship-nebraska-us-passengers
2.American Passengers Exposed to Hantavirus Begin Quarantine in U.S., By Sonia A. RaoJacey Fortin and Jin Yu Young, https://www.wsj.com/world/u-s-hantavirus-cruise-passengers-fly-to-quarantine-center-after-positive-test-726e2392
3.American Passengers Exposed to Hantavirus Begin Quarantine in U.S.,By Sonia A. RaoJacey Fortin and Jin Yu Young, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/us/americans-hantavirus-ship-quarantine-nebraska.html
4.Officials share update on Americans brought to Omaha after hantavirus exposure, By Jackson Piercy and Elaina Riley, https://www.wowt.com/2026/05/11/live-9-am-update-americans-brought-omaha-after-hantavirus-exposure/
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai