U.S. Hantavirus Response Hampered by Trump Administration Cuts to CDC and Public Health Infrastructure

May 9, 2026

The MV Hondius cruise ship sailing toward Tenerife has reported six confirmed hantavirus infections since the start of April 2026 and three deaths: a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman. At least eight passengers disembarked on April 24, 2026 and returned to the U.S., where seven states are monitoring them. The CDC's Global Migration Health division is leading the response, with remaining American passengers set to fly to Nebraska's National Quarantine Unit.

Cruise ship hantavirus outbreak

▪Nearly 150 passengers are on board the MV Hondius, including at least 17 Americans.
▪Six passengers on the MV Hondius have been confirmed to have hantavirus infections since the start of April 2026.
▪The CDC has classified the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius as a level 3, which is the lowest level of concern.
▪The MV Hondius cruise ship has been hit by a hantavirus outbreak and is sailing toward Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands.
▪The article about the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak was published on May 9, 2026.
▪At least eight passengers from the MV Hondius disembarked on April 24, 2026 and returned home to the U.S.
▪The MV Hondius is expected to arrive in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on May 8, 2026.
▪The CDC has not held a public briefing on the MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak as of May 9, 2026.

U.S. passenger repatriation operation

▪The U.S. departed from the World Health Organization in January 2026.
▪Global health authorities will help transport passengers still on board the MV Hondius to their respective home countries as early as May 11, 2026.
▪The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending a team of epidemiologists and medical professionals to the Canary Islands to meet the Americans on board the MV Hondius.

Nebraska quarantine facility preparations

▪Repatriated passengers from the MV Hondius will be transported to the National Quarantine Unit at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
▪The National Quarantine Unit at Nebraska Medical Center has 20 available spaces with each individual having their own room.
▪Nebraska Medical Center housed several Ebola patients in 2014.
▪Nebraska Medical Center housed some of the first Covid patients who had been aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in early 2020.
▪If MV Hondius passengers become ill while in quarantine, they will move from the National Quarantine Unit into the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medical Center.

State-level monitoring protocols

▪Virginia's health department stated that a small number (fewer than 5) of other potentially exposed Virginians might be identified in the days ahead.
▪The Arizona resident who returned from the MV Hondius is being monitored for symptoms and having their temperature checked daily for 42 days starting when the person departed the ship.
▪Passengers from the MV Hondius who disembarked on April 24, 2026 are not being told to isolate since they have not developed symptoms.