The 2026 hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and the passengers' quarantines

In early May the Hondius, carrying nearly 150 people including 17 Americans, waited for help off Cape Verde after a suspected outbreak.^[6] The WHO said some human-to-human transmission might have occurred on board,^[2][7] and three people were evacuated from the ship, Cape Verde's health ministry said.^[8] The ship then headed to Tenerife, where its 147 passengers disembarked in a carefully managed operation on May 10.^[3][9] The US evacuated its citizens to quarantine at a Nebraska military base,^[10] and after they returned, 16 were monitored in Nebraska and two isolated in Atlanta.^[11]

Health officials in several states monitored residents who had been aboard or in contact with passengers,^[12][13][14] and the outbreak became a test of how well the US could respond to global disease threats after the Trump administration pulled back from global health work.^[15] One Canadian passenger tested presumptive positive,^[16] a French woman became critically ill and was treated with an artificial lung,^[17] and a Spanish passenger isolating in Madrid tested positive.^[18] The Hondius docked in Rotterdam for disinfection on May 18,^[19] and on July 2 the WHO declared the outbreak over.^[5]