All Passengers Now Off The Hantavirus‑Hit Cruise Ship As A Repatriated American Tests Positive

All remaining passengers from the hantavirus‑hit cruise ship MV Hondius have now been evacuated to quarantine facilities in Europe and the United States, as officials confirm that a repatriated American has tested positive for the Andes strain of the virus.

Dutch officials said two final evacuation flights carrying 28 people from the ship arrived in the Netherlands, marking the end of a complex international operation to remove everyone except essential crew from the vessel.

The latest arrivals include six passengers and 19 crew members, who have been taken to a quarantine site near Eindhoven airbase for medical checks and monitoring. This brings the total number of people airlifted from the Hondius to 94, with passengers repatriated to about 20 countries under strict infection‑control protocols.

American Man With Hantavirus

In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said one of 18 Americans evacuated from the ship and flown to Nebraska has tested positive for hantavirus while in care at a medical facility there, according to Aljazeera.

Officials said the patient is being monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center alongside other passengers, while two additional Americans are receiving care at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

US health authorities said the evacuated Americans are being evaluated in federally funded quarantine and biocontainment units to determine their level of exposure and any symptoms.

According to hospital officials in Nebraska, the passenger who tested positive is in a biocontainment unit but has no symptoms, while another passenger is showing mild signs of illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said passengers will be offered the choice to stay in Nebraska or return home, where they would be monitored by state and local health departments, NBC News reported.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a 42‑day period of active follow‑up and quarantine for all passengers, either in facilities or at home. WHO officials continue to stress that the overall risk to the general public remains low because hantavirus usually requires prolonged, close contact for person‑to‑person transmission.

Since the outbreak was first detected, three people linked to the ship, a Dutch couple and a German passenger, have died, and WHO has recorded at least seven confirmed cases and several suspected infections, including a French traveler who tested positive after arriving in the Canary Islands.

The virus has affected citizens from at least six countries, prompting an international effort to trace and monitor passengers who left the vessel earlier in its journey.

The MV Hondius, which departed southern Argentina on 1 April for a trans‑Atlantic cruise, is now sailing from Tenerife to Rotterdam, where it will undergo a full disinfection process, while 25 crew members and two medical staff remain on board.

Health officials believe the initial infection likely occurred before the voyage began, with further spread taking place among passengers and crew during the trip, as per the BBC.