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ABC News

Hantavirus live updates: 15 in quarantine in Nebraska, 1 in biocontainment unit

PHOTO: The Dutch flagged hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is refueled by a tanker in the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands on May 11, 2026.
2:20
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
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, 5:31 PM

Passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship started disembarking Sunday in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to be transferred to charter flights back to their home countries.

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.

On Monday, 16 American cruise ship passengers arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; 15 are in the quarantine unit and one person is in the biocontainment unit, officials said. Two other American cruise ship passengers were flown to Atlanta “for further assessment and care," officials said.

Key Headlines

  • Trump says US in 'good shape,' adding, 'I hope it's fine'
  • 3 of the newly returned Americans live in New York
  • 2 passengers at Emory in Atlanta, 1 symptomatic and 1 asymptomatic
  • Breakdown of hantavirus cases and exposures
  • 15 in quarantine, 1 in biocontainment unit in Nebraska; 2 in Atlanta
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 10, 2026 4:42 PM

Hantavirus outbreak 'on the end of its run right now,' expert says

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius "is on the end of its run right now," a top infectious disease expert told ABC News "This Week" Sunday.

"The good news is that, in a sense, it is hantavirus and not another coronavirus or influenza virus. This is one that has very limited ability to be transmitted person to person. In fact, it's a rare exception," Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), told ABC News' Martha Raddatz. "And so we have no question about the fact that this really is on the end of its run right now."

VIDEO: 1-on-1 with Dr. Michael Osterholm
ABCNews.com
VIDEO: 1-on-1 with Dr. Michael Osterholm
ABCNews.com

There are about 30 cases of hantavirus a year in the U.S. on average, and "they mostly occur west of the Mississippi" – about 96%, Osterholm said, due to a specific mouse that lives in that region. He also said that person-to-person transmission of the hantavirus strain in question is "a very rare exception," and only occurs when someone is exhibiting symptoms of the virus.

"Right now, you can manage the individuals who have been exposed very simply by asking them twice a day, 'are you experiencing any kind of a fever?' And then take the temperature: 'Do you have any symptoms?' If somebody is identified right at that point, you can put basically an N95 mask on and stop all transmission," Osterholm said.

PHOTO: A passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, gets disinfected on the tarmac at Tenerife Sud airport,  Canary Islands, Spain, May 10, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters
A passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, gets disinfected on the tarmac at Tenerife Sud airport, Canary Islands, Spain, May 10, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters

"So this is why we don't need this high-tech, you know, containment facilities, et cetera, to monitor these people. We can monitor them very simply," Osterholm added, explaining why quarantining returning Americans isn't necessary.

"I have complete confidence that we will have good compliance here," Osterholm said of monitoring passengers who are returning. "And I think within days, this will no longer be a story."

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan


May 11, 2026 5:31 PM

Trump says US in 'good shape,' adding, 'I hope it's fine'

President Donald Trump discussed the hantavirus outbreak on Monday, saying, "We think we're in very good shape. We're very careful."

PHOTO: Civil guard members approach the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, on a motorboat, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain May 11, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters
Civil guard members approach the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, on a motorboat, at the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain May 11, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters


“It’s been around for a long time," he said of the hantavirus. "People are very familiar with it. So, you know, I hope it's fine."

“All I can do is, everything that a president can do, which is something which is actually somewhat limited,” he continued.

Trump also defended his withdrawal from the World Health Organization earlier this year, saying he is “glad” he made this decision.

“No, I’m glad,” Trump said when asked if he regrets withdrawing from WHO.

“We weren't being treated well, and they were making the wrong diagnoses,” he claimed, later arguing that the organization either “lied” to him or “didn’t know.”

-ABC News’ Emily Chang


May 11, 2026 5:12 PM

3 of the newly returned Americans live in New York

On Monday, 16 American cruise ship passengers arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; 15 are in the quarantine unit and one person who tested positive is in the biocontainment unit.

Three of those passengers now in Nebraska are residents of New York, according to New York state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald.

PHOTO: The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, receives a delivery at the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain May 11, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters
The cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, receives a delivery at the port of Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, Spain May 11, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters


“One passenger is from New York City, while the other two are residents of Orange County and Westchester County. All three are expected to be subject to a 42-day monitoring period," McDonald said in a statement.

“It is important to emphasize that there is no immediate risk to the public,” McDonald added.


May 11, 2026 5:07 PM

2 passengers at Emory in Atlanta, 1 symptomatic and 1 asymptomatic

Emory University Hospital said that, of the two cruise ship passengers now at its Serious Communicable Diseases Unit, one is symptomatic and is “receiving care in Emory’s biocontainment unit.”

The other passenger is asymptomatic and is “undergoing evaluation and monitoring.”

These two passengers are a couple, officials said earlier on Monday.



May 11, 2026 3:21 PM

Breakdown of hantavirus cases and exposures

There are likely 10 total hantavirus cases, including one American and one French passenger who tested positive after disembarking the ship, officials said.

PHOTO: Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, during their voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026.
AP
Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, during their voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026.
AP


Of the 18 U.S. residents who were repatriated, 16 are in Nebraska: the one who tested positive is in biocontainment and the 15 who did not test positive are in quarantine, officials said. The other two U.S. residents are in Atlanta, officials said.

Additionally, nine U.S. cruise ship passengers who disembarked prior to the outbreak being discovered are being monitored by state health departments, officials said. Two are in Texas, two are in Georgia, one is in Virginia, one is in Arizona and one is in California.

Another two Americans who were exposed during air travel are in New Jersey, officials said.

-ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud


May 10, 2026 4:42 PM

Hantavirus outbreak 'on the end of its run right now,' expert says

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius "is on the end of its run right now," a top infectious disease expert told ABC News "This Week" Sunday.

"The good news is that, in a sense, it is hantavirus and not another coronavirus or influenza virus. This is one that has very limited ability to be transmitted person to person. In fact, it's a rare exception," Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), told ABC News' Martha Raddatz. "And so we have no question about the fact that this really is on the end of its run right now."

VIDEO: 1-on-1 with Dr. Michael Osterholm
ABCNews.com
VIDEO: 1-on-1 with Dr. Michael Osterholm
ABCNews.com

There are about 30 cases of hantavirus a year in the U.S. on average, and "they mostly occur west of the Mississippi" – about 96%, Osterholm said, due to a specific mouse that lives in that region. He also said that person-to-person transmission of the hantavirus strain in question is "a very rare exception," and only occurs when someone is exhibiting symptoms of the virus.

"Right now, you can manage the individuals who have been exposed very simply by asking them twice a day, 'are you experiencing any kind of a fever?' And then take the temperature: 'Do you have any symptoms?' If somebody is identified right at that point, you can put basically an N95 mask on and stop all transmission," Osterholm said.

PHOTO: A passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, gets disinfected on the tarmac at Tenerife Sud airport,  Canary Islands, Spain, May 10, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters
A passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, gets disinfected on the tarmac at Tenerife Sud airport, Canary Islands, Spain, May 10, 2026.
Borja Suarez/Reuters

"So this is why we don't need this high-tech, you know, containment facilities, et cetera, to monitor these people. We can monitor them very simply," Osterholm added, explaining why quarantining returning Americans isn't necessary.

"I have complete confidence that we will have good compliance here," Osterholm said of monitoring passengers who are returning. "And I think within days, this will no longer be a story."

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan


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