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90-Second Reads
Updated hourly with condensed summaries of recent coverage.
Last checked May 9, 2026, 3:03 PM EDT
90-Second Read: 'The CDC is not even a player.' As Hantavirus outbreak unfolds on ship, agency is MIA, experts say
To experts, the situation aboard a cruise ship has not spiraled because, unlike COVID-19 or measles or the flu, Hantavirus does not spread easily. The CDC's diminished role in this outbreak is an indicator the agency is no longer the force in international health or the protector of domestic health that it once was, some experts said. The Hantavirus outbreak is "a sentinel event" that speaks to "how well the country is prepared for a disease threat. It has been health experts in other countries, not the United States, who have been dealing primarily with the outbreak in the last week. Hantavirus was first identified as a cause of sickness of one of the cases on May 2.
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90-Second Read: Hantavirus Cruise Ship: Passengers Will Be Evacuated Soon (Live Updates)
Oceanwide Expeditions, operator of the cruise ship MV Hondius, says at least 29 living passengers from 12 countries disembarked the ship and went home after the death of the first passenger on board (before officials knew of the outbreak). Ghebreyesus says none of the remaining passengers or crew aboard the MV Hondius are symptomatic, but that "it is possible more cases will be reported" because it can be up to six weeks before those infected with the Andes variant of Hantavirus show symptoms. Most people will never be exposed to this." The World Health Organization confirms the number of lab-proven Hantavirus cases has risen to five and there are still at least three additional suspected cases among cruise ship passengers and crew. Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society.
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90-Second Read: Is there a treatment or vaccine for Hantavirus? What to know about the illness
A Hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship has brought the rare rodent-borne illness to the forefront. TIFFIN, Iowa ( KCRG /Gray News), A Hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship has brought the rare rodent-borne illness to the forefront. Currently, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for Hantavirus. But despite the outbreak, global health officials note the risk to the general public remains low because the virus's germs do not easily spread between people. According to the World Health Organization, investigations of the cruise ship outbreak remain ongoing, including determining the source of exposure.
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90-Second Read: CDC says threat of widespread outbreak of Hantavirus remains low
As Hantavirus has dominated headlines, sparking fears of another debilitating pandemic, the CDC stressed that the risk of sweeping contagion was small. Chris McGrath/Getty Images hide caption The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday said the agency had deep experience with the Andes strain of the Hantavirus, offering assurance to the American public that there was low risk for a widespread outbreak. Officials speaking to reporters on Saturday stressed that transmission of the virus from person to person was rare and the risk to the American public remains "extremely low." Hantavirus is typically contracted when humans come into contact with rodent urine, saliva or feces. Members of the press report from an expected reception point for passengers from the MV Hondius at the Granadilla Port on May 09.
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90-Second Read: ‘Patient Zero’ Identified in Hantavirus Ship Outbreak: Leo Schilperoord
Dutch ornithologist Leo Schilperoord has been identified as the first known case in the deadly Hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship, after falling ill during an April voyage in the South Atlantic. The outbreak involves the Andes strain of Hantavirus, a rare variant that can spread between humans, unlike most strains of the disease, which generally pass from rodent to rodent. Their deaths are now believed to be among the earliest linked to the outbreak, with investigators treating Schilperoord as "patient zero" in the cluster. His case is central to efforts by global health officials to trace how the rare virus spread among passengers and across borders. The site, described by local officials as heavily contaminated, is thought to harbor rodents carrying the Andes strain of Hantavirus.
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90-Second Read: NJ residents monitored after possible Hantavirus exposure. What to know in NY
Two New Jersey residents may have been exposed to a person infected with Hantavirus linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, where a rare outbreak has killed three people, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. As of Friday, there also were no confirmed cases of Hantavirus in New York and no reports of New Yorkers being monitored for exposure. As of Friday afternoon, May 8, there were no confirmed Hantavirus cases in New York and no reports of New Yorkers being monitored for exposure. The New Jersey residents were not passengers on the cruise ship, and the potential exposure occurred during air travel abroad," the health department said in a news release Friday, May 8. As of Thursday, five people had confirmed Hantavirus cases and three others were.
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90-Second Read: Experts wonder 'Where is the CDC?' as a Hantavirus outbreak unfolds on a cruise ship
To experts, the situation aboard a cruise ship has not spiraled because, unlike COVID-19 or measles or the flu, Hantavirus does not spread easily. It has been health experts in other countries, not the United States, who have been dealing primarily with the outbreak in the past week. The Hantavirus outbreak is "a sentinel event" that speaks to "how well the country is prepared for a disease threat. Health officials confirmed the deployment of a team to Spain's Canary Islands, where the ship was expected to arrive early Sunday local time, to meet the Americans onboard. The CDC's diminished role in this outbreak is an indicator the agency is no longer the force in international health or the protector of domestic health that it once was, some experts said.
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90-Second Read: Hantavirus latest: What’s next for cruise, passengers heading home
The cruise ship at the center of a Hantavirus outbreak is set to anchor near the Canary Islands this weekend so passengers and some crew can disembark. WHO officials explained on Saturday, May 9, 2026, the evacuation process coming for passengers and some crew onboard the cruise ship with the Hantavirus outbreak. What we want to do is make sure we're focused on the passengers and crew on board." The head of the World Health Organization is seeking to reassure residents of Tenerife worried about the arrival there of a Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship. The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, with more than 140 passengers and crew on board, is sailing on its way to Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of West Africa, and is expected to arrive at the island of.
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90-Second Read: European nations dispatch planes to evacuate citizens from Hantavirus-hit cruise ship
Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands will send planes to evacuate their citizens aboard the Tenerife-bound cruise ship hit by a deadly Hantavirus outbreak, Spain 's interior minister said in Madrid on Saturday. The luxury cruise ship MV Hondius left for Spain on Wednesday from the coast of Cape Verde after the WHO and European Union asked the country to manage the evacuation of passengers onboard after the Hantavirus outbreak was detected. Read more French couple on Hantavirus cruise ship says 'no panic onboard' Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person. The European Union is sending two further planes for remaining European citizens, Fernando Grande-Marlaska added. The US and UK have confirmed planes and contingency plans were being arranged for non-EU citizens.
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