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ABC News

Hantavirus live updates: Risk to general public 'very, very low'

PHOTO: Personnel assist passengers evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, and arrived on a chartered aircraft at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, May 11, 2026.
2:20
Hayden Smith/Reuters
1 American positive for hantavirus, another symptomatic, HHS says
By Christopher Watson, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth, Mary Kekatos, Nadine El-Bawab, Leah Sarnoff, Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: May 11, 2026, 2:28 PM

Passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship began disembarking on Sunday morning in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where they were transferred to charter flights back to their home countries.

A flight carrying 17 U.S. citizens who were on the ship arrived early on Monday in Nebraska. At least one American tested positive for the virus, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Sunday.

The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus onboard the ship has risen to 10, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.

Key Headlines

  • 15 in quarantine, 1 in biocontainment unit
  • Risk to general public 'very, very low'
  • Hantavirus on ship is Andes variant
  • Ship captain thanks guests, crew for their kindness, patience during 'challenging' weeks
  • French passenger tests positive, minister says
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 09, 2026 8:57 AM

All passengers on M/V Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours

An official from the Canarias Region government said that all passengers on the MV Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours.

PHOTO: Members of the Spanish Civil Guard wait for the arrival of the Cruise MV Hondius at port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 9, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the Spanish Civil Guard wait for the arrival of the Cruise MV Hondius at port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 9, 2026. A cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak is expected to reach waters off Tenerife at dawn, with WHO chief also due on the archipelago to help coordinate the ship's evacuation.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images

The officials said that the government's plan is to not allow any of the passengers to put members of the population into any type of risk.

If passenger is not ready to be transferred directly to airplane of their destination, then they will not be able to leave the vessel, the officials said.

Leaving by nationality, passengers will be transferred to the port wearing full protective equipment to avoid any contact with Canarias territory and they will be escorted by a few buses via TF1 route to the airport, which will take approximately 15 minutes to reach the airport.

-ABC News' Aicha El Hammar Castano


May 11, 2026 2:28 PM

15 in quarantine, 1 in biocontainment unit

Fifteen passengers were welcomed to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s quarantine unit Monday morning and one person is in the biocontainment unit, according to the unit’s medical director, Dr. Mike Waldman.

The quarantine unit is more like a hotel, while the biocontainment unit is patient-based care, more like a hospital, officials said.

The 15 passengers at the quarantine unit are in “good spirits,” Waldman said.

“We’ve been doing symptom monitoring, as well as temperature checks," he said. "Everyone here is asymptomatic and ... do not have a temperature at this time. They're all resting now and we'll do further assessments later in the day, once they've had a chance to sleep."

The one person in the biocontainment unit is doing well and does not have symptoms, but is “very tired” after a “really long journey,” officials said.

Besides the 16 cruise ship passengers in Nebraska, two cruise ship passengers were flown to Atlanta “for further assessment and care," officials said.

The two patients in Atlanta "are under medical evaluation," officials said, though it is not clear why those two patients traveled to Atlanta.


May 11, 2026 2:11 PM

Risk to general public 'very, very low'

The “risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low,” Dr. Brian Christine, Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said at a news conference on Monday.

The Andes variant "does not spread easily, and it requires prolonged, close contact with someone who is already symptomatic," he assured.

Even though, he said, the department has taken the situation "very seriously from the very start."


May 11, 2026 2:05 PM

Hantavirus on ship is Andes variant

Initial genetic analyses confirmed that the hantavirus on the Hondius cruise ship is of the "known Andes variant and rule out any relevant mutations," Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said in a post on social media.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé



May 11, 2026 1:05 PM

Ship captain thanks guests, crew for their kindness, patience during 'challenging' weeks

Jan Dobrogowski, the captain of the Hondius, recorded a message thanking passengers and crew for their patience during the “extremely challenging” last few weeks.

“What touched me the most, what moved me the most, was your patience, your discipline, and also kindness -- kindness that you show to each other. ... I've witnessed your caring, your unity and quiet strength," Dobrogowski said, according to the Associated Press.

PHOTO: Passengers carry their belongings in plastic bags after being evacuated from the MV Hondius after docking in the Granadilla Port, May 10, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain.
Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images
Passengers carry their belongings in plastic bags after being evacuated from the MV Hondius after docking in the Granadilla Port, May 10, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain.
Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images


He added, “Our thoughts are with the ones that are no longer with us. ... This can be very painful to the people on board, especially already dealing with grief, worry and perhaps uncertainty.”


May 09, 2026 8:57 AM

All passengers on M/V Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours

An official from the Canarias Region government said that all passengers on the MV Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours.

PHOTO: Members of the Spanish Civil Guard wait for the arrival of the Cruise MV Hondius at port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 9, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the Spanish Civil Guard wait for the arrival of the Cruise MV Hondius at port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 9, 2026. A cruise ship hit with a deadly hantavirus outbreak is expected to reach waters off Tenerife at dawn, with WHO chief also due on the archipelago to help coordinate the ship's evacuation.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images

The officials said that the government's plan is to not allow any of the passengers to put members of the population into any type of risk.

If passenger is not ready to be transferred directly to airplane of their destination, then they will not be able to leave the vessel, the officials said.

Leaving by nationality, passengers will be transferred to the port wearing full protective equipment to avoid any contact with Canarias territory and they will be escorted by a few buses via TF1 route to the airport, which will take approximately 15 minutes to reach the airport.

-ABC News' Aicha El Hammar Castano


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