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ABC News

Hantavirus live updates: 41 people under monitoring across US

PHOTO: The exterior of Emory University Hospital, where two passengers from the cruise ship that had an hantavirus outbreak, are being monitored and treated, in Atlanta, Georgia, May 11, 2026.
1:35
Alyssa Pointer/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 15, 2026, 2:49 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.

Sixteen American passengers arrived on Monday at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Fifteen of those passengers were being monitored in a quarantine unit and another, who had initially tested positive, was in a biocontainment unit, officials said. Later, that person tested negative and was medically cleared to go to the quarantine unit.

Two other American passengers were flown to Atlanta for "further assessment and care," officials said.

Key Headlines

  • American doctor who initially tested positive says further testing shows 'no evidence that I've had hantavirus'
  • 12 quarantined staff members at Dutch hospital were not contagious to others, hospital says
  • 41 people under monitoring for hantavirus across US, CDC says
  • All close contact patients in France test negative, health minister says
  • 3 in Kansas taken to hospital for observation after being exposed to hantavirus abroad
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 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 15, 2026 2:49 PM

American doctor who initially tested positive says further testing shows 'no evidence that I've had hantavirus'

The American doctor who was on the ship and initially tested positive has since tested negative and says "there's no evidence that I've had hantavirus."

A doctor from the biocontainment unit in Nebraska said the initial test was most likely a falsely positive, based on further testing.

PHOTO: Dr. Steve Kornfeld is shown in this undated file photo. Dr. Kornfeld spoke with ABC News while aboard the M/V Hondius.
Courtesy Dr. Steve Kornfeld
Dr. Steve Kornfeld is shown in this undated file photo. Dr. Kornfeld spoke with ABC News while aboard the M/V Hondius.
Courtesy Dr. Steve Kornfeld


Dr. Stephen Kornfeld -- the only American to test positive for hantavirus -- came down with flu-like symptoms on the cruise ship, and on Monday he was admitted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's biocontainment unit following a positive test, officials said. The Bend, Oregon, resident has since tested negative and was cleared to relocate to Nebraska's quarantine unit, where 15 other passengers from the cruise ship who do not have symptoms are being monitored.

"I physically feel great -- I have felt great for many, many days," Kornfeld told ABC News. "Emotionally I feel wonderful. It's nice to be negative for hantavirus."

Click here to read more.


May 15, 2026 9:57 AM

Scientists heading to Ushuaia to research if hantavirus was already there before MV Hondius departed

A team of Argentine scientists are planning to head to Ushuaia next week to conduct research to see if hantavirus was already there before the MV Hondius cruise ship departed on April 1, officials said.

The team will collect samples and send them to a lab. The results are expected to come back in about four weeks.

The World Health Organization has posited that the first infection likely happened on land before the ship even sailed. But local officials in Ushuaia say they are not convinced because they’ve never had a confirmed hantavirus case there.

“Its been 45 days since the ship left and we haven't had any cases,” said Juan Petrina, director of epidemiology for Tierra del Fuego province.

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic


May 14, 2026 7:23 PM

12 quarantined staff members at Dutch hospital were not contagious to others, hospital says

Officials at Radboudumc hospital in the Netherlands say blood tests show that the 12 hospital employees placed in precautionary quarantine were not contagious to others.

The hospital said the chance of actual infection remains "very small," but the employees are continuing a six-week precautionary quarantine.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky



May 14, 2026 7:07 PM

41 people under monitoring for hantavirus across US, CDC says

There are 41 people under monitoring across the U.S. for potential hantavirus infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's incident manager for hantavirus, Dr. David Fitter, said in a phone call with reporters.

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


Those 41 people include: 16 people who were repatriated from the cruise ship and are under quarantine at a Nebraska facility; two who were repatriated from the cruise ship and are being monitored at an Atlanta facility; seven people who were former cruise ship passengers who left before the outbreak was declared; and 16 people who were exposed during travel, including on flights, officials said.

No Americans are positive for hantavirus at this time, officials said.

All 16 people in the Nebraska facility are recommended to stay for the entire 42-day period, officials said.

The remaining exposed people who are not at the quarantine facilities are recommended to stay at home, away from others, with an emphasis to avoid travel, officials said. These individuals are in touch with their state and local health departments and the CDC said it is in touch with those departments.

-ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud


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.


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