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ABC News

Hantavirus live updates: Atlanta passengers relocate to Nebraska quarantine facility

PHOTO: The cruise ship MV Hondius leaves Praia, Cape Verde, May 6, 2026.
1:35
Stringer/Reuters
Officials tracking at least 41 Americans after deadly hantavirus outbreak
By Christopher Watson, Ivan Pereira, Jon Haworth, Mary Kekatos, Nadine El-Bawab, Leah Sarnoff, Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: May 12, 2026, 7:39 PM

The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus of those who were onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship stands at 10, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.

No cases of Andes hantavirus have been confirmed in the U.S. The eighteen American ship passengers are being monitored at the quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Key Headlines

  • Health officials in Washington state tracking hantavirus case unrelated to cruise ship
  • 2 cruise ship passengers originally in Atlanta now at Nebraska quarantine facility
  • Suspected hantavirus case at upstate New York high school, not linked to cruise ship
  • US has no cases of Andes hantavirus
  • WHO hunts for hantavirus source
  • American doctor who initially tested positive says further testing shows 'no evidence that I've had 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 11, 2026 6:31 PM

Ship sets sail after evacuating passengers, crew

The MV Hondius cruise ship has set sail from Spain after evacuating passengers and crew from 23 countries, Spanish health minister Monica Garcia said.

"Mission accomplished. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. We continue working to protect public health,” Garcia said.

PHOTO: SPAIN-HEALTH-HANTAVIRUS-ILLNESS-TOURISM
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: SPAIN-HEALTH-HANTAVIRUS-ILLNESS-TOURISM
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images


The ship still has "around 30 people, the crew and two health workers, and they will need our support throughout their journey until they reach Rotterdam,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “... We will continue to monitor and support them in any way possible.”


May 12, 2026 7:39 PM

American quarantining in Nebraska shares video tour of his room

Jake Rosmarin, who is among the 15 hantavirus-negative passengers quarantining at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after disembarking the MV Hondius cruise ship, shared a video tour of his room on Instagram on Tuesday.

Rosmarin showed off his stationary bike, TV, bed, recliner and desk, saying, “The room is very spacious and comfortable.”

“I’m hoping to give more updates while I’m here. I’m feeling well,” he said.

Rosmarin told ABC News earlier on Tuesday that he is not experiencing any symptoms and plans on remaining in quarantine for the next 42 days.

"I think that is the best decision that's for me and for my family, and I know that here, I'm in the best care possible," Rosmarin said.


May 12, 2026 7:27 PM

Passengers in Nebraska undergoing in-depth interviews, symptom monitoring

Fifteen passengers remain in the quarantine unit and one person remains in the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medicine, hospital officials said.

The passengers are undergoing in-depth interviews to trace their contacts as well as regular symptom monitoring, officials said.

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.
Hayden Smith/Reuters
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.
Hayden Smith/Reuters

May 12, 2026 7:08 PM

2 people being monitored in Seattle area

Two residents of King County, Washington, are being monitored at home after potentially being exposed to hantavirus, the Seattle and King County Public Health Department said.

The two residents sat on a plane near an ill passenger from the cruise ship; that passenger was removed from the plane and later tested positive, officials said.

The two residents don’t have symptoms and are being monitored, officials said.

"Currently, no one in King County has symptoms of hantavirus and there are no cases of the virus in King County," the health department said. "The risk to the public remains low."

A resident of King County is also among the cruise ship passengers now being monitored at the quarantine center in Nebraska, the officials added.



May 12, 2026 6:45 PM

25 crew, 2 medical staff remain on ship; no one has symptoms

Twenty-five crew members and two medical staffers remain on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which is en route to the Netherlands, Oceanwide Expedition said.

PHOTO: SPAIN-HEALTH-HANTAVIRUS-ILLNESS-TOURISM
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images


No one on board has hantavirus symptoms but the “medical staff will continue to monitor throughout the remainder of the voyage,” Oceanwide Expedition said.

The ship is expected to arrive on Sunday or Monday. The crew members will follow quarantine procedures when they disembark, Oceanwide Expedition said.


May 11, 2026 6:31 PM

Ship sets sail after evacuating passengers, crew

The MV Hondius cruise ship has set sail from Spain after evacuating passengers and crew from 23 countries, Spanish health minister Monica Garcia said.

"Mission accomplished. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. We continue working to protect public health,” Garcia said.

PHOTO: SPAIN-HEALTH-HANTAVIRUS-ILLNESS-TOURISM
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: SPAIN-HEALTH-HANTAVIRUS-ILLNESS-TOURISM
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius leaves the port of Granadilla de Abona on the island of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, May 11, 2026.
Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images


The ship still has "around 30 people, the crew and two health workers, and they will need our support throughout their journey until they reach Rotterdam,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “... We will continue to monitor and support them in any way possible.”


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