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Hantavirus updates: Canadian cruise ship passenger tests positive for hantavirus 

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 13, 2026, 5:34 PM

The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus of those who were onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship stands at 11, 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

  • Canadian cruise ship passenger tests positive for hantavirus
  • 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
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 07, 2026 4:57 PM

Suspected hantavirus case in France, officials say

The French Health Ministry issued a statement Thursday confirming that a French national has been tested for hantavirus after they displayed mild symptoms.

The unidentified person had been in contact with a confirmed hantavirus case who flew from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, according to the statement.

Eight other French nationals who were not passengers aboard the MV Hondius have been identified as contacts of a confirmed case after the infected person left the ship during a flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, according to the French Health ministry.

"Following the appearance of mild symptoms in one of these individuals, diagnostic testing is underway and isolation measures have been implemented," the statement said.

The news brings the number of hantavirus cases associated with the MV Hondius to six confirmed and six suspected.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee


May 13, 2026 5:34 PM

American in quarantine gives video update

Jake Rosmarin, one of the American cruise patients currently quarantining in Nebraska, provided an update on his Instagram page Wednesday.

PHOTO: In this screen grab from a video posted to his Instagram account, Jake Rosmarin is shown on day 3 during his stay at the National Quarantine Unit.
Jake Rosmarin/Instagram
In this screen grab from a video posted to his Instagram account, Jake Rosmarin is shown on day 3 during his stay at the National Quarantine Unit.
Jake Rosmarin/Instagram

On his third day of quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit, Rosmarin showed off his thermometer used to take his temperature, his breakfast and his daily routine.

PHOTO: In this screen grab from a video posted to his Instagram account, Jake Rosmarin is shown on day 3 during his stay at the National Quarantine Unit.
Jack Rosmarin/Instagram
In this screen grab from a video posted to his Instagram account, Jake Rosmarin is shown on day 3 during his stay at the National Quarantine Unit.
Jack Rosmarin/Instagram


"One thing I really want to emphasize is how kind everyone here has been. The staff truly want to make sure we are as comfortable and cared for as possible during all of this. They even asked me what Starbucks I’d want and said they were hopefully going to get one delivered to me again today," he wrote in the post.

-ABC News' Matt Foster


May 13, 2026 1:43 PM

American doctor who tested positive speaks out from quarantine

Dr. Steve Kornfeld, a physician who was onboard the MV Hondius and stepped in when the ship's physician contracted the virus, opened up about his own quarantine in Nebraska.

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


Speaking to CNN, Kornfeld talked about being in the biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after he too tested positive for the hantavirus.

After experiencing "night sweats, chills and mild respiratory symptoms, as well as more than two weeks of severe fatigue," he told CNN that he is experiencing no symptoms and is in good spirits.

Kornfeld added that the time is passing quickly and he's spending a lot of time on WhatsApp.


May 13, 2026 9:28 AM

Minnesota monitoring person 'potentially exposed' to hantavirus, Health Department says

The Minnesota Department of Health said it’s monitoring the condition of a person who "may have briefly been exposed overseas" to another person who tested positive for hantavirus after being on board the MV Hondius.

"MDH is in contact with the person who was exposed," the department said in a statement on Tuesday. "They have been very cooperative, and we are monitoring them daily for symptoms. The person does not currently have symptoms. MDH will not release any additional information on the person to protect their privacy."

-ABC News’ Jessica Gorman



May 12, 2026 11:57 PM

Potential hantavirus case in Illinois not related to ship outbreak, health officials say

The Illinois Department of Health said Tuesday it is investigating a potential case of hantavirus in a Winnebago County resident that is not connected to the MV Hondius outbreak.

"The resident lives in Winnebago County, has not travelled internationally, and has not come in contact with individuals associated with the MV Hondius outbreak," the health department said in a statement. "They are suspected to have acquired a North American strain of the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present."

The individual experienced mild symptoms and did not require hospitalization. The health department said it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on additional testing to confirm if it is a hantavirus case.

Unlike the strain of hantavirus in the cruise outbreak, the North American strains are not known to spread from person-to-person, health officials said.


May 07, 2026 4:57 PM

Suspected hantavirus case in France, officials say

The French Health Ministry issued a statement Thursday confirming that a French national has been tested for hantavirus after they displayed mild symptoms.

The unidentified person had been in contact with a confirmed hantavirus case who flew from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, according to the statement.

Eight other French nationals who were not passengers aboard the MV Hondius have been identified as contacts of a confirmed case after the infected person left the ship during a flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, according to the French Health ministry.

"Following the appearance of mild symptoms in one of these individuals, diagnostic testing is underway and isolation measures have been implemented," the statement said.

The news brings the number of hantavirus cases associated with the MV Hondius to six confirmed and six suspected.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee


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