US evacuates passengers from cruise ship with hantavirus, 42-day quarantine begins

US health authorities evacuated 17 US citizens from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, after the vessel docked in the Canary Islands. CNN reports. The passengers were transported via a special government aircraft to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where they will undergo medical examinations and monitoring.

According to authorities, the risk of widespread transmission of the virus remains low, but all evacuees will be placed under 42-day observation and self-isolation.

To date, three confirmed cases of hantavirus and several other suspected infections are linked to the ship. Confirmed cases include a Dutch woman who has died, a British passenger in an intensive care unit in South Africa, and a Swiss citizen being treated at a hospital in Zurich.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that passengers were interviewed prior to their flight to the US to assess the risk of infection.

“This is not COVID,” emphasized acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya to CNN. “We do not want to create public panic. We are following hantavirus protocols that have successfully contained similar outbreaks before.”

According to him, a public health risk exists only for individuals who have been in very close contact with an infected person exhibiting symptoms.

“If they have not been in close contact with a symptomatic patient, the risk is considered low,” Bhattacharya said. “If there was close contact, the risk may be determined as medium or high.”

Upon arrival in Nebraska, passengers will be housed in the specialized National Quarantine Unit—the only federally funded quarantine facility in the US. The center features 20 rooms with negative pressure systems designed to contain the spread of dangerous infectious diseases.

Health authorities emphasize that none of the evacuees are currently exhibiting symptoms.

“We do not expect any of these passengers to be carried out on a stretcher,” stated the center’s director, Prof. John Lowe. “They will disembark the aircraft normally, be transported to the quarantine facilities, and remain under observation.”

According to Dr. Michael Wadman, director of the quarantine unit, the conditions are comparable to hotel accommodations.

“It is almost like staying in a hotel room with food delivery,” he said. “Passengers can use exercise equipment in their rooms, and we will monitor symptoms and vital signs daily.”

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses primarily spread by rodents. Infection typically occurs through the inhalation of particles from the infected droppings, urine, or saliva of rodents.

In this specific case, health authorities suspect the strain is the Andes virus—a rare variant that can also be transmitted between humans through very close and prolonged contact.

The World Health Organization has already stated that limited human-to-human transmission on board the ship is possible, particularly among passengers sharing cabins.

A total of 146 people from 23 countries remain on board the MV Hondius. All will undergo medical examinations in the Canary Islands before being allowed to return to their homes.

US authorities are already monitoring other passengers who left the ship earlier and returned to the states of Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, and California. To date, none of them have exhibited symptoms.