Seventeen American passengers from the MV Hondius — the Dutch-flagged cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak — arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha early May 11, with one passenger who tested positive for hantavirus heading directly to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit.
The outbreak, which began in early April aboard the ship’s voyage through the South Atlantic, has resulted in three deaths and eight cases — six confirmed, two suspected — as of May 8. UNMC’s involvement marks the latest escalation in a response spanning multiple countries and international health agencies, including the World Health Organization and the CDC.
Here are six things to know:
1. Americans arrive at UNMC; one positive case sent to biocontainment.
A plane carrying 17 Americans exposed to hantavirus arrived at Eppley Airfield in Omaha Monday, according to a May 11 report from WOWT. One passenger who did not have symptoms tested positive, and was taken directly to the biocontainment unit at UNMC. The other passengers went to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. According to the CDC, passengers will not be formally quarantined — instead they’ll be monitored and assessed for a shorter stay before likely going home for a self-monitoring period lasting 42 days.
2. UNMC confirms all 17 individuals are healthy.
UNMC leaders confirmed all 17 individuals are healthy, and said the quarantine will resemble previous activations — including when UNMC received Ebola patients in 2014 and COVID-19 repatriates in 2020, according to a May 10 hospital news release. The National Quarantine Unit, located on the Nebraska Medicine and UNMC campus, is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S., designed specifically to safely house and monitor people who may have been exposed to high-consequence infectious diseases. The 20-bed facility uses individual negative air pressure systems, and is staffed by an all-volunteer team of nurses, physicians and allied health professionals who complete quarterly training in specialized infection prevention and control processes.
3. CDC issues health advisory urging clinicians to watch for hantavirus symptoms.
The CDC issued a Health Alert Network advisory May 8 to inform clinicians and health departments about the hantavirus cluster caused by the Andes virus, noting that while the risk of broad spread to the U.S. is considered extremely unlikely, clinicians should be aware of the potential for imported cases. The agency recommended that clinicians place patients with suspected Andes virus infection in airborne infection isolation rooms and use N95 or higher respirators, gowns, gloves and eye protection. The CDC noted that early diagnosis is difficult within the first 72 hours of symptoms, and advised repeat testing at the 72-hour mark.
4. WHO: ‘This is not the start of another COVID pandemic.’
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, PhD, stated the outbreak poses a low global public health risk and is “not the start of another COVID pandemic,” while WHO’s acting director for epidemic and pandemic management, Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, emphasized that hantavirus “does not spread the same way that coronaviruses do,” according to a May 7 United Nations news release. UNMC’s biocontainment unit director, Angela Hewlett, MD, echoed that assessment, saying hantavirus lacks the sustained human-to-human transmission seen with COVID-19 and that the situation does not appear likely to progress to a worldwide pandemic.
5. Case count rises to eight; CDC activates Emergency Operations Center.
As of May 8, WHO has reported eight cases — six confirmed and two suspected — including three deaths, with investigations ongoing to assess exposure risk among all American passengers on the ship or those who may have been exposed on aircraft. The CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center at a level 3 designation — the agency’s lowest emergency activation level — indicating the risk to the general public remains low while active monitoring continues. Officials are now tracking passengers across six states.
6. About the Andes virus: the only hantavirus that spreads person-to-person.
The outbreak is caused by the Andes virus, the only type of hantavirus documented to spread person-to-person, though that spread typically requires close, prolonged contact — such as direct physical contact, time in enclosed spaces, or exposure to an infected person’s saliva, respiratory secretions or other body fluids. Symptoms typically appear within four to 42 days after exposure and can include fever, fatigue, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms before progressing to severe respiratory illness. The CDC says there is currently no specific antiviral treatment or vaccine for the Andes virus, and that early supportive care — including ECMO in severe cases — is critical.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
