Hantavirus live updates: 16 at facility in Nebraska, 2 at hospital in Atlanta
A flight carrying U.S. citizens who were on the ship arrived Monday in Nebraska.
Last updated: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 8:23PM GMT
Passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship started disembarking Sunday in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to be transferred to charter flights back to their home countries.
The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus onboard the ship has risen to 10, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.
On Monday, 16 American cruise ship passengers arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, 15 are in the quarantine unit and one person is in the biocontainment unit, officials said. Two other American cruise ship passengers were flown to Atlanta "for further assessment and care," officials said.
Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.
How does hantavirus spread?
Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype, the Andes virus, from South America, according to the WHO.
Is there a vaccine?
There are currently no approved vaccines anywhere in the world that specifically protect against the Andes virus, but scientists are working on it.
Symptomatic cruise ship passenger in Atlanta tests negative
The cruise ship passenger at an Atlanta hospital who reported mild symptoms has tested negative for hantavirus, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. This passenger's partner is also being monitored at the Emory University facility, officials said.
Meanwhile, the 16 passengers who are being monitored in Nebraska do not have symptoms, including the person in the biocontainment unit who previously tested positive, HHS said.
3 hours and 10 minutes ago
New evidence shows that Andes variant may spread easier than thought
There is growing concern around anecdotal evidence from the cruise ship that the Andes variant of the hantavirus may spread easier than previously thought.
"We're just seeing emerging evidence in conversation that several colleagues had with the doctor on the ship, who said that at least three of the people who got infected did not have close contact, and they may have had just casual contact sitting next to somebody for half an hour at a meal," said Dr. Ashish Jha, the former White Houses COVID-19 response coordinator.
ByOthon Leyva
3:55 PM GMT
12 Dutch hospital staffers quarantined after treating hantavirus patient
Twelve staffers at a hospital in the Netherlands are under quarantine after treating a hantavirus patient, Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans told lawmakers.
"Strict procedures were followed there, but not the very strictest procedures that apply in the case of this hantavirus," Hermans said.
"This concerns the taking of blood and the disposal of urine from the patient," she said. "... The chance that staff were infected as a result is small, but because we know that we are dealing with a serious virus here, (the hospital officials) said we are erring on the side of caution. We know this is a drastic measure with a major impact, but we are taking it nonetheless."
ByOthon Leyva
1:39 PM GMT
'No sign' of 'larger outbreak,' WHO director-general says
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stressed on Tuesday that "there is no sign that we're seeing the start of a larger outbreak."
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General, delivers his speech after inaugurating the WHO Academy campus Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Lyon, central France.
He said the process of offloading passengers from the cruise ship was successful and he opened up about the mental struggles those on board were facing.
"Almost 150 people from 23 countries were on this ship for weeks, in what must have been a very frightening situation. Even some of the passengers were facing mental breakdown," he said at a news conference.
"There were some people around the world calling for the passengers to be contained on the ship for the full quarantine period. Our view was that it would have been inhumane and unnecessary," he said.
The director-general said that of the 11 reported cases, all are among the ship's passengers and crew.
"There have been no deaths since May 2, when WHO was first informed of the cluster of cases," he said. "All suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, minimizing any risk of further transmission."
