JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – June 6, 2026 – Hantavirus
(May 15th) At the Port of Rotterdam, 23 temporary cabins are being set up to receive the international crew of the cruise ship Hondius. It has not yet been decided whether they will stay there for the full mandatory six-week quarantine, but authorities are considering that scenario. The Rotterdam-Rijnmond GGD will carry out tests on the crew and medical personnel upon arrival.
The vessel is en route to Rotterdam harbour and is expected to arrive on Monday morning. A total of 27 people remain on board, including 25 crew members and two employees of the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Four of them are Dutch citizens who will complete quarantine at home. The other 23 are foreign crew members from the Philippines (17), Ukraine (4), Russia (1), and Poland (1).
Prior to departure for Rotterdam, around 150 passengers representing 23 nationalities were taken off the vessel in Tenerife (Canary Islands) and flown back to their respective home countries.”
“Five of the 18 U.S. cruise ship passengers quarantined in Nebraska went home Monday, halfway through their quarantine after being exposed to hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said.
The five passengers were permitted to leave under the condition that they stay home — no quick runs for takeout or trips to the grocery store — for the second half of the virus’ full 42-day quarantine period, set to end June 22.
The CDC said all of the passengers who are asymptomatic and haven’t tested positive for the Andes hantavirus were given the option to leave Monday. Those who chose to stay can finish their 42-day quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska.
States are required to station law enforcement or public health employees outside the quarantined passengers’ homes for surveillance, the CDC said.
New York and California have agreed to accept returning passengers, according to their departments of health. Arizona and Oregon have also agreed to accept passengers, the CDC said.” (1)
“U.S. officials are prepared to allow some of the 18 American passengers exposed to a unique strain of hantavirus to leave a special quarantine facility in Nebraska as early as Monday. But they are still negotiating with state officials over how closely the passengers should be monitored for the remainder of the 42-day quarantine after returning home, according to three people familiar with the response.”
White House officials have been pushing for aggressive monitoring at home, including the stationing of an armed guard in front of the person’s house 24/7, the people said. But public health officials have pointed out that such an approach conflicts with best practices and weakens the trust-based rapport needed for people to participate fully in monitoring programs and to seek care if it is needed.”
“But ongoing discussions Friday suggested federal officials may be backing off some of the stricter monitoring proposals. They are now exploring a less restrictive plan that would allow passengers to complete their quarantine at home with routine check-ins, two people familiar with the discussions said. It’s not clear whether an in-person presence, with an unarmed staffer outside the home, is still an option, one person said. At one point, there was discussion of having passengers wear ankle monitors, the person said.”
The level of home monitoring has been an ongoing and pointed negotiation between federal officials and the states involved, and is still subject to change, the people said. Some negotiations have involved the White House and governors’ offices, especially with Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R), according to three people familiar with the discussions.” (2)
“Two Texas residents who were monitored for possible hantavirus exposure after traveling aboard an Antarctic cruise ship have completed their observation period without developing symptoms, Texas health officials said Saturday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the passengers reached 42 days since their last possible exposure to the Andes strain of hantavirus, the longest known period between exposure and the onset of symptoms. The agency said neither person showed signs of infection and no longer faces any public health recommendations related to the exposure.” (3)
Hantavirus: Climate change suspected of contributing to recent surge in cases in Argentina, By Delphine Roucaute, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2026/05/29/hantavirus-climate-change-suspected-of-contributing-to-recent-surge-in-cases-in-argentina_6753948_114.html
1.State trooper guards and daily fever checks: Some hantavirus cruise ship passengers go home, By Erika Edwards and Maggie Vespa, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/hantavirus-cruise-ship-passengers-quarantine-new-york-california-cdc-rcna347843
2.Dispute grows over home monitoring of hantavirus passengers, Lena H. Sun,Brady Dennis and Rachel Roubein, https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/dispute-grows-over-home-monitoring-154622597.html
3.Texas cruise passengers complete hantavirus monitoring with no infections, state says, By Joseph Rowe, https://www.fox7austin.com/news/texas-passengers-complete-hantavirus-monitoring-no-infections-state-says
4.Quarantine cabins set up in Rotterdam for crew of Hondius amid hantavirus outbreak, https://nltimes.nl/2026/05/15/quarantine-cabins-set-rotterdam-crew-hondius-amid-hantavirus-outbreak
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai