90-Second Read: Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship docks in the Netherlands after deadly outbreak
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Lucas Ferreira
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Published May 18, 2026

The outbreak on the ship has reached at least 11 cases, nine of which have been confirmed. Some two dozen passengers and crew are already in quarantine in the Netherlands after arriving in the country on a series of flights over the previous two weeks. The Hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius is the first known case on a cruise ship. The MV Hondius was carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel as it reached Rotterdam on Monday morning, after all the passengers disembarked elsewhere.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said one of the four Canadians in isolation after leaving the ship had tested positive Sunday and it would share information on the case with the World Health Organization. Crew members who are unable to return home will be quarantined in the Netherlands, the Dutch health ministry said last week. After everyone on board has disembarked, the ship will be decontaminated based on Dutch public health guidelines. A short distance from where the ship docked, authorities had set up 25 white containers along the water in between a line of windmills.
An Associated Press journalist saw people board the boat via a pier wearing white hazardous materials suits. Eighteen Americans are currently under observation at specialized healthcare facilities in the United States designed to treat people with dangerous infectious diseases. Public health officials will inspect the vessel before it is allowed to sail again. The Dutch company that owns the cruise ship said it doesn't foresee any changes to its operations.
The MV Hondius has spent the past six days sailing from the Canary Islands, where the remaining passengers were escorted off the vessel by personnel in full-body protective gear and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to enter quarantine. The vessel made the journey from Tenerife up the coast of Africa and Europe with 25 crew members and two medical personnel. According to the ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions, no one on board is experiencing any symptoms.
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Original reporting
Based on reporting from KOCO. Read the original source for full details.
Source published May 18, 6:20 AM EDT. Hantavirus Now reviewed reporting from KOCO and summarized the key points below.
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