What comes next for US and Canada passengers evacuated from hantavirus-hit cruise ship
Seventeen American passengers and one British national evacuated from the hantavirus-affected cruise ship *MV Hondius* arrived in Nebraska for evaluation, with one testing positive and another showing mild symptoms. The group will be assessed at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, with potential options to stay in Nebraska or return home after risk evaluation, while seven other US passengers are already under monitoring in their home states.
Seventeen American passengers and one British national who resides in the US were evacuated from the *MV Hondius* cruise ship, which docked in Spain’s Canary Islands after a hantavirus case was identified. The group arrived in Nebraska aboard a US government-chartered plane, with one passenger testing positive and another exhibiting mild symptoms. Both were transported in biocontainment units as a precaution. The passengers will be evaluated at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit (NQU), the only federally funded quarantine facility in the US. The 20-bed unit, equipped with negative air pressure systems, opened in 2019 and is designed to prevent disease spread. Officials expect the group to arrive early Monday morning and undergo risk assessments to determine public health threats. CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya stated that passengers will be classified as low, medium, or high risk based on exposure to symptomatic individuals. Those deemed low risk may return home if local conditions allow, while others could remain in Nebraska. All will be monitored for 42 days post-exposure, with self-isolation required if symptoms develop. Seven other US passengers had already returned home and are under local health monitoring. The CDC emphasizes the risk of a major outbreak remains low, with transmission requiring close contact with symptomatic individuals. Dozens of passengers from multiple countries are still being repatriated from the *MV Hondius* ship.
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