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Key developments
• Eighteen passengers from the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak are back in the US and being monitored at medical units. Sixteen of those people, including one who tested positive, are in Nebraska, and two others are in Atlanta. All in Nebraska are asymptomatic, and one person in Atlanta is experiencing symptoms, health officials said.
• The American passengers were among 122 guests and crew evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship in recent days and repatriated to their home countries and the Netherlands, where several remain before returning home. The vessel is now en route to Rotterdam, Netherlands, with the remaining crew.
• The virus, typically tied to rodents, may have passed from human to human aboard the ship, the World Health Organization said. Three passengers have died since April 11 and a handful of others are sick.
• Hantavirus remains a low risk to the general public, the global health agency said. The public should not panic as the virus does not spread easily, US health officials said. CNN is tracking what we know about the outbreak in maps and charts here.
Authorities provide updates on 2 hantavirus patients
A British national who was admitted to hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa after contracting hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius is “clinically improving but still ill,” a spokesperson for the South African health ministry told Reuters Monday.
Meanwhile, a French woman who fell ill after being evacuated from the cruise ship near the Spanish island of Tenerife is in intensive care in stable condition, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in a post on X Monday.
Three people who were on board the MV Hondius have died. Overall, there have been nine reported cases and seven confirmed cases of hantavirus so far, according to the World Health Organization.
Australian and New Zealander passengers to return home this week, Health Minister says
The five Australians and one New Zealander who were aboard the MV Hondius will return home over the course of this week, Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler said Tuesday.
The passengers landed in the Netherlands Tuesday morning and were initially expected to fly directly to Australia from Tenerife, where the ship was docked, but that flight was delayed, according to Spain’s Health Ministry.
Butler told public broadcaster ABC that arranging repatriation flights for the passengers will be “difficult” but “we’re confident they’ll be back over the course of this week,” adding they are only able to stay in the Netherlands for a maximum of 48 hours.
Once the passengers arrive in Australia, they will stay at a facility in Perth for about three weeks, Butler said, at which point authorities will decide what will happen for the remainder of the 42-day quarantine period.
CDC is “on the sidelines” amid current hantavirus outbreak, former director says
Though the risk of getting hantavirus if you did not have contact with anyone on the cruise ship where it broke out is “basically zero” — and there is “no danger” to the general public — the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “on the sidelines” amid the current outbreak, a former director of the agency said Monday.
“Instead of being a leader in global health, we’re on the sidelines,” Tom Frieden told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
He added that the CDC is still reeling from the “dismantling” of the agency, the firing of thousands of staffers and only having a part-time director.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the 2018 birthday party outbreak
Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the 2018 birthday party outbreak that kicked off an outbreak of hantavirus that killed 11 people in Epuyen, Argentina.
What we know about the cruise passengers at the center of the hantavirus outbreak
American passengers, who disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak, are now in the United States and being monitored at medical facilities. We have learned some more details about their treatment and also about passengers from other countries.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Details on passengers in the US: Authorities provided the following information today:
- Currently, 18 people being monitored for hantavirus in US medical facilities. Seventeen are Americans and one is a British dual-national. Ages range from late 20s to early 80s, with older people and those with medical comorbidities at higher risk for severe outcomes.
- Sixteen of those individuals are at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) — one is in the biocontainment unit after testing positive and 15 are in the quarantine unit.
- The 15 passengers at UNMC’s National Quarantine Unit are asymptomatic.
- Two people were transferred to Atlanta’s Emory University, including at least one individual who is experiencing symptoms. The couple is in a biocontainment unit. The transfer was part of contingency planning as UNMC’s biocontainment unit does not have enough capacity for all of the passengers who are currently being monitored in quarantine.
- After assessing the passengers for a few days, authorities will decide for each individual if they should complete their 42-day monitoring period at home or in the medical facilities.
- In addition to these 18 individuals, at least 11 other people are being monitored across seven states. Passengers in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia had previously disembarked from the ship and individuals in New Jersey and Maryland were exposed to a confirmed case while on international flights.
- “The risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low,” said Dr. Brian Christine, DHHS assistant secretary for health.
Details from other countries:
French passenger tests positive: A woman, who was one of five French nationals who were evacuated from the ship, tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated in a specialist hospital, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist told French radio station France Inter. The passenger began showing symptoms during her return from Tenerife and tested positive upon arrival. Her health deteriorated overnight, Rist said.
Spanish national positive: A Spanish passenger currently in isolation at a hospital in Madrid has tested positive for hantavirus after a preliminary test, according to Spain’s Health Ministry. While the final results are pending, the man is asymptomatic and in good health, the ministry added, saying the other 13 Spanish passengers who were evacuated from the ship are testing negative.
Toll to date: Three people who were on board the MV Hondius have died. Overall, there have been nine reported cases and seven confirmed cases of hantavirus so far, according to the World Health Organization.
CNN’s Kara Fox, Joseph Ataman, Chris Boyette, Hanna Park, Holly Yan, Deidre McPhillips, Vasco Cotovio, Caitlin Danaher and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.
“Anyone on that ship is high risk,” says Harvard health professor about hantavirus spread
Some cases of hantavirus did not require prolonged close contact, and people who were aboard the cruise ship where the virus was detected should quarantine, said Joseph Allen, a professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health, on Monday.
“In fact, one person passed it to another person at a birthday party simply by passing by and saying hello. That’s not prolonged contact,” Allen told CNN’s Erin Burnett about a previous outbreak outside the US.
Allen added that there is “incomplete” and “half-correct” messaging coming from health organizations about what should be done about possible close contacts. Additionally, hantavirus remains a low risk to the general public, according to the World Health Organization. This is “not another Covid-19,” its chief said.
Dr. Gustavo Palacios, a virologist advising officials on the hantavirus outbreak, indicated that health leaders should err on the side of caution and trust the global health agency’s assessment that anyone on the ship is at high risk.
Director of Nebraska biocontainment unit encourages cruise passengers to stay quarantined
Even though not everyone who was exposed to the hantavirus on a cruise ship and is currently being monitored at a Nebraska hospital must quarantine for a full 42 days, the medical director of the biocontainment unit said she “highly” encourages it.
Nebraska Medicine is closely monitoring the passengers and can provide care immediately should any of them become ill, which would not be the case, necessarily, if they were to go back home, Dr. Angela Hewlett told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday.
Currently, 16 people are staying at the hospital but only one is in the biocontainment unit, she said.
MV Hondius expected in Netherlands Sunday with 27 people still on board
The MV Hondius is expected to reach its final destination in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Sunday evening, tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said Monday.
A total of 27 people remain on board – 25 crew members and 2 medical professionals provided by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
The nationalities of those remaining on board are as follows:
- Philippines - 17
- Netherlands - 4 (2 of whom are medical professionals)
- Ukraine - 4
- Russia - 1
- Poland - 1
The body of the deceased German passenger who died on May 2 remains on board and will be repatriated upon arrival to the Netherlands, the tour company said.
The total number of people repatriated to their home countries and the Netherlands is 122 (35 crew, 87 guests), according to Oceanwide.
The difference between a biocontainment unit and a quarantine unit
Some cruise ship passengers at the center of the hantavirus outbreak are being monitored at medical units in the US — most in quarantine units, but some in biocontainment units.
We learned the difference between the two facilities from Dr. Kelly Cawcutt, the senior medical director for infection prevention and healthcare epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Quarantine Unit: Think of it almost as a specialized hotel room, Cawcutt told CNN today. Passengers have a private room, exercise equipment and technology to pass time, even though they can’t have visitors. Teams are evaluating the passengers’ “risk of exposure, how high risk that might be, and the likelihood that they could potentially develop infection. But also making sure that we can provide the care they need quickly and effectively should they in fact develop an infection,” she explained.
Biocontainment unit: It is “a high-level hospital room that has the capacity to go all the way to an intensive unit care-level patient care,” Cawcutt said. Nurses and a multidisciplinary staff monitor and care for patients with known infection in this unit. At this point, patients are not mandated to stay in the facility for 42 days, although it is an ongoing discussion among public health officials and federal government, Cawcutt added.
The key thing to know, according to Cawcutt, is that hantavirus is not like Covid-19. The coronavirus was a new virus that could spread easily among humans, and one infected person could infect many people at the same time. Meanwhile, the global health care community has experience with hantavirus, and its Andes strain. It is not a new virus, and it does not spread like Covid-19, which is also why she said health care officials are not as concerned about its risk to general public.
Ex-Covid response chief on outbreak: US and world have "done a great job with containment"
Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House coronavirus response coordinator, joined CNN’s Wolf Blitzer today to discuss the international and US response to the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship.
One quarantined Spanish passenger tests positive for hantavirus after preliminary test
A Spanish passenger currently in isolation at a hospital in Madrid has tested positive for hantavirus after a preliminary test, according to Spain’s Health Ministry.
The man, who was PCR tested on arrival yesterday, is currently asymptomatic and in good health, the ministry added. The final results will be confirmed in the coming hours.
On Sunday, 14 Spanish passengers were evacuated from the MV Hondius to the military hospital Gomez Ulla in the capital.
The other 13 passengers have tested provisionally negative, according to the health ministry.
Cruise ship passenger shares selfie inside quarantine unit in Omaha
One passenger who was onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has been sharing his journey on social media, which includes his latest post inside the quarantine unit.
Jake Rosmarin first posted about his trip on the ship on April 1, where he mentioned it would be his “home for the next 35 days.”
Rosmarin has been sharing regular updates of his time on the ship, including emotional updates when he heard hantavirus broke out on board.
On Monday, Rosmarin shared a selfie of him smiling in his quarantine room upon landing in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Hopping back on for a second to let everyone know I’m okay and feeling well,” Rosmarin said in part in a post to Instagram.
The room, which is located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, appears to be fully furnished with a bed, desk area, dresser and an exercise bike.
“The repatriation flight was smooth, and I safely made it to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha. It’s been a very long few days, but hopefully I can start giving more updates soon,” he added.
Rosmarin said he’s being cared for and monitored while at the quarantine unit and there is no indication he tested positive at this time.
MV Hondius leaves Spain's Tenerife for Netherlands after evacuation operation concludes
The MV Hondius has set sail from the Port of Granadilla in Spain’s Tenerife following the conclusion of a carefully managed evacuation operation.
The vessel blew its horn as it departed the port with the remaining crew embarking on the final leg of the journey to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The sail time is expected to take around five days, according to the tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
Final passengers disembark from hantavirus-hit cruise ship
The final set of passengers are disembarking the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak, docked in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
All the remaining passengers will now depart for the Netherlands on an evacuation flight later today. Previously, some of the passengers had been expected to fly to Australia, but that flight was delayed, according to Spain’s Health Ministry.
The ship and its crew are scheduled to continue to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the crew will disembark and the ship will be disinfected. The sail time is expected to be around five days, according to the tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
This post has been updated to clarify that all remaining passengers will now depart for the Netherlands.
Virus-hit cruise ship docks at port due to weather conditions
The MV Hondius has made an unexpected move to dock at the Port of Granadilla in Spain’s Tenerife due to adverse weather conditions, Spain’s Health Ministry said Monday.
The vessel will stay docked at the port “for the minimum time necessary to ensure the safety of passengers and members of the evacuation operation,” the ministry said.
A CNN team at the port witnessed the MV Hondius docking to facilitate the evacuation of the final batch of passengers and crew.
Local officials initially said the ship would anchor at “the safest” distance from the dock, as the arrival of the vessel caused tensions in the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain, with the territory’s leader Fernando Clavijo saying earlier in the week that he was opposed to the ship docking there.
More cases of hantavirus expected, WHO chief tells CNN, but patients are "in good hands"
The head of the World Health Organization told CNN he expects more cases of hantavirus to emerge after two passengers tested positive for the virus after evacuating from the MV Hondius.
“We already have one confirmed, you know, the passenger from France, and I expect actually more because of the long incubation period,” he added, referring to a woman who began showing symptoms during her return to France and tested positive upon arrival.
The WHO chief sought to calm fears surrounding the outbreak, again reiterating that the virus is “not another Covid.” He added that passengers exhibiting symptoms would receive excellent medical care now they have disembarked the ship.
In addition to the French woman, a passenger on the US evacuation flight tested positive for hantavirus despite being asymptomatic, and has been taken directly to a biocontainment unit in Nebraska.
Emory gives details on the 2 passengers taken to Atlanta
Two MV Hondius passengers who were transferred to Emory University Hospital’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit include one person with symptoms and another who is a close contact, spokesperson Jen Phillips said in a statement.
“One symptomatic individual is receiving care in Emory’s biocontainment unit, and one asymptomatic individual — identified as a close contact — is undergoing evaluation and monitoring,” the statement said.
“Emory University Hospital is part of the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center network within the federally supported National Special Pathogen System, which provides specialized capabilities for safely managing high-consequence infectious diseases.”
A selfie to remember: Passengers take masked snap aboard the MV Hondius
Two passengers aboard the hantavirus stricken cruise ship MV Hondius were photographed taking a selfie on Monday, as the vessel at the heart of the outbreak was resupplied in the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, and as the remaining passengers were set to disembark.
The pair, who were wearing face masks, offered a rare glimpse into what life has been like aboard the vessel. Access to passengers and crew has been rare since the outbreak was first reported last month.
While much of the news has focused on numbers and nationalities, the risk of contagion and safety protocols, the moment highlighted an aspect of the outbreak that the head of the World Health Organization has encouraged us not to forget: the humanity of those involved.
“They have families, they’re mothers, or they’re fathers, or they’re children,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a Friday press conference.
“I remember a passenger on the ship saying, ‘We’re not headlines, we are human beings,’” he said.
Earlier Monday, in a video message, the ship’s captain Jan Dobrogowski called the past few weeks “extremely challenging” and thanked his crew for the “courage and the selfless resolve that they showed time and again in the most difficult moments.” Dobrogowski said he was touched by the kindness that everyone on board showed one another and asked for “privacy and respect (for) our guests and their families and our crew members in this difficult time.”
Covid-19 officials on hantavirus response: Testing and quarantine are essential
US health officials have said individual plans will be created for the 18 passengers who arrived back in the US after disembarking from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, and some of them may complete their 42 days of health monitoring from home.
Dr. Brian Christine, assistant US health secretary, told CNN that whether a person is symptomatic will help guide the individual plan, and that routine testing is unlikely.
But some health experts who guided the US through the Covid-19 pandemic are weighing in to say strict quarantine measures and consistent testing are essential.
“We really do need to stop following viruses by symptoms and follow viruses by tests,” Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House coronavirus response coordinator, told CNN on Monday. “It’s only through seeing the virus through actual testing, rather than waiting for symptoms, that you can really understand what’s going on.”
Dr. Jerome Adams, a former US surgeon general who served during the Covid-19 pandemic, said in a post on X on Monday that waiting until symptoms appear before testing and isolating patients is “a bandaid on a hemorrhage.”
Adams, who was part of President Donald Trump’s first administration, said that “by the time you realize that you need mandatory quarantines and mass testing … it’s too late for those measures to be fully effective.”
“If we are serious about ending this outbreak, all the passengers should undergo a full quarantine away from others,” Dr. Ashish Jha, former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said in a social media post on Monday.
According to interim guidance posted Friday, the World Health Organization considers all passengers and crew on board the MV Hondius to be “high-risk contacts,” who should be actively monitored in a designated facility or home quarantine.
There are currently 16 passengers being monitored for hantavirus at a US medical facility in Nebraska, along with two other individuals who were sent to a biocontainment unit in Nebraska and nine people with possible exposure who returned to their home states earlier.
At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, symptoms are being assessed twice a day, Dr. Michael Wadman, director of the national quarantine unit, said at a news briefing Monday. There’s no agreed-upon standard for how often asymptomatic individuals should be tested, he said, and those decisions will be made by the physician medical direction team and CDC colleagues.
