90-Second Read: Mapping the Hantavirus outbreak as cruise ship passengers return to US
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Daniel Reyes
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Published May 11, 2026
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Health officials in the Trump administration said the Hantavirus situation was under control. A total of nine cases, including three deaths, have been connected to the Hantavirus outbreak as of May 11, according to the World Health Organization. The MV Hondius set sail for the Netherlands on Monday night after evacuating passengers from nearly two dozen countries, officials reported. One of them was experiencing Hantavirus symptoms but tested negative for the virus. A total of 94 passengers of 19 nationalities evacuated from the ship on May 10, the first day of evacuations, Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said at a news conference.
Passengers were taken from the ship to shore in small boats and transported to Tenerife airport in military buses, without coming into contact with the public, according to Reuters. The latest case was reported by France and involved a passenger who disembarked the ship one day earlier, Olivier le Polain, unit head of epidemiology and analytics for response with the WHO, said. Still, the current outbreak is a warning sign of what's to come with zoonotic diseases that move from animals to people, public health experts say. The other two, a couple, were taken to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The country is prepared, and the CDC is focused on it, and the agency is well aware of the opportunities to actually treat this problem, not just try to prevent.
Sixteen of those passengers were sequestered at the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska. We have this under control, and we're not worried about it," added Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Peter Hotez, dean of Baylor College of Medicine's National School of Tropical Medicine, told USA TODAY that there may be some new cases arising as people get set to head to their home countries. However, it's unlikely to cause a wider epidemic, let alone a pandemic, given how the virus has spread. CONTRIBUTING: Natalie Neysa Alund, Eduardo Cuevas, Melina Khan, Thao Nguyen, Ramon Padilla, Daniel de Vise and Shawn J.
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, at a press briefing on May 11. We have to be aware of the fact that zoonotic spillover epidemics are increasing with frequency and overall in severity," said Hotez.
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Based on reporting from USA Today. Read the original source for full details.
Source published May 11, 7:01 PM EDT. Hantavirus Now reviewed reporting from USA Today and summarized the key points below.
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