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United States activated an emergency health protocol this Sunday to receive American citizens who were aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has resulted in three deaths and at least six confirmed cases since early April.
The ship arrived this Sunday in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where the remaining approximately 150 passengers— all asymptomatic—were evacuated to a "completely isolated and cordoned off" area of the Granadilla de Abona industrial port, before being transferred in escorted vehicles to the local airport for repatriation.
At least 17 U.S. citizens who remained on board will fly to the Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, and will be transferred to the National Quarantine Unit of the Nebraska Medical Center, the only federally funded quarantine unit in the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent a team of epidemiologists and medical professionals to the Canary Islands in a coordinated operation with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Government of Spain.
At least eight American passengers who disembarked on April 24 —before diagnoses were confirmed— have already returned home and are being monitored by health authorities in at least seven states.
Georgia and Texas are monitoring two residents each; Virginia and Arizona, one each; California has at least one resident who stayed on board and another who has already returned. Virginia's health department warned that "in the coming days, a small number (fewer than five) of other Virginians potentially exposed may be identified."
None of them have been instructed to isolate, as they are not showing symptoms. The CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center in Atlanta at level 3, the lowest level of concern, and has classified the risk to the general public as "extremely low."
The Nebraska National Quarantine Unit features 20 individual rooms with negative air pressure, WiFi, and exercise equipment. The institution hosted Ebola patients in 2014 and repatriated passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
«We are prepared for situations exactly like this,» said Dr. Michael Ash, Chief Executive Officer of Nebraska Medicine. «Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to ensure that we can provide care safely while protecting our staff and the community at large.»
The Andes strain of hantavirus is the only one among more than 20 known variants with documented transmission from person to person, though it is limited to prolonged and close contacts, and it has a mortality rate of up to 50% according to the World Health Organization. There is no specific antiviral treatment or approved vaccine.
The WHO has classified this outbreak as the first documented hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and has ruled out the risk of a pandemic. Public health experts noted it is unusual that the CDC has not held a press conference, and they express concern about the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO in January 2026, which could delay access to information on international health emergencies.
Given that the incubation period of the virus can last up to six weeks, state health authorities will maintain active surveillance on passengers who have already returned home over the coming weeks.
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