American Passengers from MV Hondius Arrive in Omaha; One Tests Positive for Hantavirus

Eighteen passengers from the MV Hondius (17 Americans and one British national who lives in the United States) arrived at Omaha's Eppley Airfield aboard a State Department flight in the early hours of Monday morning. They had been aboard the cruise ship at the center of the international hantavirus outbreak. One of the 18 has tested positive for the virus, and a second passenger showing mild symptoms has been sent to a separate facility for treatment, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said.

This marks the next phase of a public health response that has now reached three continents, and the latest development since three people died in the outbreak, and health authorities identified the strain as Andes virus, the only known hantavirus capable of person-to-person transmission.

A Stop at the National Quarantine Unit

After disembarking in Tenerife and being evaluated by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff, the American passengers were flown back to the United States aboard a charter aircraft equipped with biocontainment units of the kind used during Ebola and COVID-19 evacuations. Two passengers traveled inside those biocontainment units during the flight, according to NBC News.

Sixteen of the passengers were transferred to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The remaining two—a couple, one of whom is symptomatic—were taken to Emory University in Atlanta, a decision officials described as contingency planning to preserve space in Omaha if more capacity is needed later.

The National Quarantine Unit is the only federally funded quarantine facility in the United States. It opened in November 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic, and was built with negative air pressure systems specifically to contain highly hazardous communicable diseases. Each of its 20 rooms is roughly 300 square feet and outfitted like a hotel suite, with a private bathroom, exercise equipment, food delivery, and Wi-Fi for long stays. As of Monday morning, 15 American passengers were in the quarantine unit, and one was in the adjoining Nebraska Biocontainment Unit: the on-site treatment facility that previously cared for patients during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the Diamond Princess COVID-19 evacuations in 2020.

A Disputed Positive Test

HHS announced that one of the American passengers tested positive for hantavirus during the return flight, though the individual is not yet showing symptoms. The Spanish Health Ministry, however, has publicly described the result as inconclusive. Spanish authorities said that one of two laboratory analyses produced a "weak positive" reading, while a second analysis came back negative. U.S. officials elected to treat the case as positive out of caution, NBC News reported.

The dispute shows how unsettled the diagnostic picture remains in this outbreak. A French passenger who was flown home separately to Paris on Sunday has also tested positive, and her condition reportedly worsened in the hospital overnight, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Monday.

What the MV Hondius Passengers Face in Omaha

Federal health officials have stressed that the Omaha stay is not technically a quarantine in the legal sense, but rather an extended monitoring period. CDC officials told CNN the agency will conduct a risk assessment on each passenger to determine whether they qualify as "low risk,” meaning they were not in close, prolonged contact with a symptomatic individual. Asymptomatic passengers will not be tested, since testing is not recommended for people without symptoms.

The total monitoring window will run 42 days, corresponding to the maximum incubation period for the virus. After initial assessment in Omaha, passengers deemed low risk who have appropriate support to isolate at home may be permitted to complete the rest of their monitoring there, working with state and local public health agencies. Officials are watching for fever, muscle aches, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, difficulty breathing, and chest pain, all of which are early indicators of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.

A Coordinated International Response

The American return is part of a broader, country-by-country evacuation. Spanish, French, Canadian, British, Australian, and Dutch authorities have all arranged separate flights home for their citizens. The U.K. government said 20 British nationals, a German citizen residing in the U.K., and one Japanese passenger are being kept at a hospital in northwest England for 72 hours and will be required to isolate at home for 45 days afterward.

The MV Hondius itself has refueled in Tenerife and is preparing to sail back to the Netherlands with a skeleton crew of about 30 onboard, along with the body of a German passenger who died at sea. The ship will be disinfected upon arrival.

The World Health Organization continues to investigate the origin of the outbreak, with particular attention on a birdwatching trip in southern Argentina that the first passenger to die had joined before boarding the cruise.

Unanswered Questions

Eight hantavirus cases have been linked to the outbreak so far: six laboratory-confirmed and two probable, along with three deaths. The CDC has classified its response at Level 3, its lowest emergency level, and the WHO has repeatedly said the risk to the general public remains low.

But for the families who lost loved ones and the passengers now living under medical observation in two countries, the central questions are still open:

How did Andes virus, endemic only to remote parts of South America, find its way aboard a vessel carrying nearly 150 people from 23 countries?

What did the cruise operator know about hantavirus risk along its itinerary, and what was done (or not done) to identify and contain the threat once passengers began falling ill?

Cruise operators carry a responsibility to identify, prevent, and respond to health hazards aboard their ships, including those rooted in sanitation, pest control, and timely communication with passengers and crew. As the WHO investigation continues, those questions are likely to shape the next stage of accountability.

If you or a loved one were aboard the MV Hondius, learn about your legal options.