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ABC News

Hantavirus live updates: CDC will bring Americans back to quarantine unit

PHOTO: A passenger checks his camera inside his cabin on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026.
2:14
AP
CDC classifies outbreak as 'Level 3' emergency
By Christopher Watson, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth, Mary Kekatos
Last Updated: May 8, 2026, 8:22 PM

Global health authorities are working to contain an outbreak of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.

The total number of confirmed cases associated with the outbreak is increasing, health officials said. To date, three people who were aboard the ship are known to have died of the virus.

More than 100 passengers remain on the ship, and the World Health Organization is monitoring their health. Officials said that the "overall public health risk remains low" but that there may be some person-to-person spread.

Health officials in multiple states say they're monitoring some passengers who have returned to the U.S. after being aboard the ship for potential hantavirus infections.

Key Headlines

  • What to know about Nebraska quarantine unit set to receive Americans from hantavirus-stricken ship
  • Nebraska quarantine unit says it's 'staffed and ready' to receive American passengers
  • CDC personnel to meet Americans on hantavirus-stricken ship
  • 2 New Jersey residents being monitored for hantavirus
Here's how the news is developing.

Pinned
May 08, 2026 5:17 PM

What is hantavirus and how does it spread?

Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:

What is hantavirus?

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.

PHOTO: Stock photo of a colorized electron micrograph of the Hantavirus.
Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Lib/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
Stock photo of a colorized electron micrograph of the Hantavirus.
Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Lib/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images

How does hantavirus spread?

Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.

Read more about hantavirus here.


Pinned
May 08, 2026 4:15 PM

2 New Jersey residents being monitored for hantavirus

Two New Jersey residents -- who were not passengers on the cruise ship M/V Hondius -- are being monitored for possible hantavirus infections.

The state's health department was notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the residents were potentially exposed to an infected cruise ship passenger during a flight. Neither individual is reporting symptoms.

This brings the total of U.S. residents under monitoring to at least nine across six states. None have shown any signs of illness at this time.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud


May 08, 2026 8:22 PM

What to know about Nebraska quarantine unit set to receive Americans from hantavirus-stricken ship

Several American passengers from the cruise ship associated with a suspected hantavirus cluster are set to arrive at a quarantine unit in Nebraska over the next few days. Here's what to know about the facility.

The National Quarantine Unit, managed by Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S.

Its 20 single-occupancy rooms with en-suite bathrooms contain individual negative air pressure systems to safely house individuals exposed to highly hazardous communicable diseases, according to Nebraska Medicine and UNMC.

The rooms also contain exercise equipment and WiFi connectivity for patients requiring longer stays.

Nebraska Medicine and UNMC also manage the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU), which provides medical care to patients with highly hazardous communicable diseases.

“Unit personnel consists of a voluntary staff of select physicians, nursing, nursing assistants and respiratory therapists specially trained in high-level isolation and bio preparedness,” Nebraska Medicine and UNMC said on its website.

The NBU was activated in 2014 to care for U.S. citizens affected by the Ebola outbreak and medically evacuated from Africa and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to care for U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess Cruise ship.


May 08, 2026 7:39 PM

Nebraska quarantine unit says it's 'staffed and ready' to receive American passengers

The University of Nebraska, which hosts the quarantine facility the American cruise ship passengers are set to travel to, said Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are coordinating with partners to receive the U.S. citizens.

The university said the National Quarantine Unit is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S.

"We are prepared for situations exactly like this," Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, said in a statement. "Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to make sure we can safely provide care while protecting our staff and the broader community. We are proud to support this national effort."

Nebraska Medical Center also houses the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, a highly specialized facility meant to care for patients with "high-consequence infectious diseases," the university said.

PHOTO: In this undated file photo, the Davis Global Center is shown in Omaha, Nebraska.
UNMC and Nebraska Medicine
In this undated file photo, the Davis Global Center is shown in Omaha, Nebraska.
UNMC and Nebraska Medicine

Nebraska Medicine and UNMC treated patients during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and cared for some of the first Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020.

"We understand situations like this can raise questions," Ash said. "People should know these facilities were specifically designed to prevent exposure to the public. There is no risk to the community from people being cared for in these units."

In a statement released earlier on Thursday, the University of Nebraska said both units "are staffed and ready, if needed, to safely provide care while protecting our staff and the community."

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud


May 08, 2026 5:40 PM

WHO working to coordinate screening process for crew, passengers

Anais Legand, the technical officer with the World Health Organization, briefed the press Friday about the organization's efforts to screen the M/V Hondius' crew and passengers after the ship arrives in the Canary Islands.

Health teams will work with national authorities and each boat member will be assessed by trained medical staff, he said.

PHOTO: View of a biohazard suit for staff of High-Level Isolation Unit of La Candelaria University Hospital in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, southwestern Spain, May 8, 2026.
Ramon De La Rocha/EPA/Shutterstock
View of a biohazard suit for staff of High-Level Isolation Unit of La Candelaria University Hospital in the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, southwestern Spain, May 8, 2026.
Ramon De La Rocha/EPA/Shutterstock


Epidemiologists will review individual exposure histories and interactions, according to Legand.

"So this is a way for us to get all the pieces together and have the maximum information to be able to assess any risk for this person and give them the right recommendation," he said.

-ABC News' Othon Leyva



May 08, 2026 5:16 PM

CDC personnel to meet Americans on hantavirus-stricken ship

An official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to ABC News that the agency will be dispatching personnel to the Canary Islands, where the M/V Hondius -- the cruise ship at the center of a suspected hantavirus cluster -- is scheduled to arrive on Sunday.

Teams will then escort those Americans to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud


May 08, 2026 4:15 PM

2 New Jersey residents being monitored for hantavirus

Two New Jersey residents -- who were not passengers on the cruise ship M/V Hondius -- are being monitored for possible hantavirus infections.

The state's health department was notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the residents were potentially exposed to an infected cruise ship passenger during a flight. Neither individual is reporting symptoms.

This brings the total of U.S. residents under monitoring to at least nine across six states. None have shown any signs of illness at this time.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud


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