90-Second Read: Hantavirus Cruise Passengers Will Be Evacuated Soon, Report Says (Latest Updates)

A Spanish citizen who was evacuated from the MV Hondius, an expedition cruise ship linked to a deadly Hantavirus outbreak, has tested positive for the virus weeks after leaving the ship, according to Spain's Ministry of Health. 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. Argentine officials suggested the Hantavirus outbreak could have originated from a bird-watching outing that took the deceased Dutch couple to a landfill, where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the virus before boarding the ship, the Associated Press reported. Thursday, May 14, 2026 More than 40 people are being monitored but there are no confirmed cases in the United States, CNBC reported.

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). The South African Department of Health says tests performed on infected passengers of the the MV Hondius confirm the Andes virus, one of the deadliest Hantavirus diseases with a roughly 40% case fatality rate, is what infected passengers onboard the ship. May 4, 2026 The World Health Organization ⁠confirms a strain of Hantavirus is spreading aboard the ship, with two lab-confirmed cases and five more suspected cases. Spanish officials confirm that after testing positive once for Hantavirus, the American now known to be Kornfield has since tested negative twice for the disease, meaning no Americans are among the nine confirmed cases of the illness.

Twelve staff members at a Dutch hospital are quarantined after blood and urine samples collected from a Hantavirus patient were mishandled, according to Reuters, and they'll stay isolated for six weeks despite a very low risk of infection. France's Health Minister Stéphanie Rist says a woman, among five French nationals evacuated from the vessel, has tested positive for the Hantavirus and all five people will be put under isolation in Paris. He insisted the public health risk remains "low." A Dutch flight attendant who has developed mild symptoms is being tested for the disease after she briefly came into contact with one of the deceased Hantavirus patients. May 6, 2026 The CDC reportedly tells employees Luis Rodríguez, the American official responsible for public health on cruise ships, is retiring.

CNN cites unnamed health officials in reporting the estimated 17 Americans onboard the cruise ship will be escorted on a charter flight and taken to the National Quarantine Unit, a federally funded quarantine facility in Omaha. An international team of scientists is working to create a vaccine against Hantavirus, the BBC reported. People typically get Hantavirus from contact with rodents like rats and mice, normally when exposed to their urine, droppings and saliva, or sometimes through a bite or scratch, but officials say no rodents have been found on the MV Hondius ship.