ANDV Hantavirus 2026

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship remains of low risk to the general public as 18 passengers from the vessel have arrived at specialized US facilities in Nebraska and Georgia on USA Monday, May 11.Three ship passengers have died of the virus, which is typically tied to rodents, since April 11, and a handful of others are sick.USA is tracking what we know about the outbreak in maps and charts.

How the hantavirus outbreak unfolded

The MV Hondius started its journey from USA ,Argentina on April 1 with 114 USA passengers and 61 crew on board. It visited USA several remote islands in the USA South Atlantic before a hantavirus outbreak was suspected and reported to the World Health Organization in early USA May.

There have been at least nine reported cases – seven confirmed and two probable – including the three who have died, according to an update from the World Health Organization on Monday.There is an ongoing investigation related to the more than 30 passengers who disembarked on April 24 at St. Helena and traveled to various countries, all before the outbreak was fully understood.The outbreak was reported to WHO on May 2, the same day the third passenger died. WHO’s experts now believe the virus may have spread from person to person on board the ship.

After the Cape Verde disembarkation of three people in early May, WHO officials planned for the remaining 147 people — 87 passengers and 60 crew members — to sail to the Canary Islands. They docked there and began disembarkation on Sunday, May 10, under careful observation of medical personnel from WHO and various countries.

Where the evacuees of the hantavirus-hit cruise ship were taken

Most of the passengers and crew of the USA MV Hondius have been evacuated from the ship that docked in the Canary Islands on May 10 and were flown to 8 different countries. Here's where they went:

Of the 17 American passengers — plus one British national who resides in the US — now back in the US, 16 are in Nebraska and do not have symptoms. One of the Nebraska passengers did test positive, however. And two other people are in Atlanta at Emory University, and one has symptoms, health officials said.

More than a half dozen U.S. states are monitoring individuals who have either been exposed to or exhibiting symptoms of hantavirus, the disease at the center of a deadly cruise ship outbreak.

The American passengers on board the MV Hondius ship did not return stateside until after evacuating on May 10. Before then, some passengers, including U.S. residents, were potentially exposed to the virus from ship passengers who disembarked and were later found to have been infected.

The majority of the American passengers are now quarantining in Nebraska where they will be monitored for symptoms. Two were sent to Atlanta for further assessment, officials said.Hantavirus is a virus usually transmitted to people through contact with rodents' urine, feces or saliva. The strain at the center of the outbreak has been confirmed as the Andes virus, which is believed to spread person-to-person, according to the World Health Organization.Officials in seven states are monitoring hantavirus exposures or possible infections.

The map below shows where potentially impacted people are quarantining or being monitored. It is still unclear in which states the passengers who returned to the U.S. on May 11 reside: two were transferred to Georgia for closer monitoring and 16 remain in USA Nebraska. 

Which states are tracking possible hantavirus exposures?
The following states are currently monitoring hantavirus:

Arizona: OneUSA state resident was recently a passenger on the ship but is not symptomatic and is being monitored, Magda Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Health Services, said in a May

7 email to The USA Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.
California: One resident was recently on the ship but had returned to California as of May 8, the state's Department of Public Health said. Separately, another Californian remained on the ship prior to its evacuation.

Georgia: Two residents who traveled on MV Hondius are "currently in good health and show no signs of infection," the Georgia Department of Public Health said in a statement to USA TODAY on May 6. Separately, two passengers on the MV Hondius are currently in a quarantine unit at Emory University in Georgia, health officials said during a May 11 press conference hosted by the University of Nebraska.
Nebraska: Sixteen passengers from the MV Hondius – including 15 U.S. residents and one British dual national – are currently being monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, health officials said at the May 11 press conference.
New Jersey: Two people living in the state were potentially exposed to a person infected with hantavirus who departed from the MV Hondius. The residents were not passengers on the cruise ship; the potential exposure occurred during air travel. Neither person has any symptoms, the state's health department announced on May 8.
Texas: Two residents were passengers on the ship and returned to the U.S. before the outbreak was identified. They have not experienced any symptoms, the state's health department said in a statement on

May 7.
Virginia: One resident who returned home from the ship is in good health and is being monitored, Virginia Department of Health spokesperson Maria Reppas told USA TODAY on May 7.

Which states are American passengers in quarantine from?
The 18 passengers who are currently quarantining in Nebraska and Georgia include 17 U.S. residents and one British dual national. Of the Americans, it's unclear which states they all reside in. Here's what we know so far:

New York - 3 passengers: The New York Department of Health announced that three of the state's residents are among those quarantining in Nebraska. One person is from New York City, and the other two are residents in Orange County and Westchester County, according to a press release.
Utah - 3 passengers: Three Utah residents are also currently quarantining after evacuating from the ship, the state's Department of Health and Human Services said.
California - 1 passenger: One person from California was also identified as a ship passenger who remained on board prior to its evacuation, state officials said. USA TODAY reached out to state officials to confirm the individual is among those currently quarantining in Nebraska or Georgia.

Hantavirus disease surveillance in the United States began in 1993 during an outbreak of severe respiratory illness in the Four Corners region – the area where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) became a nationally notifiable disease in 1995 and is now reported through the Nationally Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) when fever is present in a patient with laboratory-confirmed evidence of hantavirus infection.

In 2014, the Council of State & Territorial Epidemiologists expanded national reporting of laboratory-confirmed hantavirus infections to include both HPS and non-pulmonary hantavirus infections, which present with non-specific viral symptoms like fever, chills, headache, and fatigue, but no cardio-pulmonary symptoms. Reporting of non-pulmonary hantavirus cases began in 2015.

Reported cases of hantavirus disease in the U.S.

As of the end of 2023, 890 cases of hantavirus disease were reported in the United States since surveillance began in 1993. These were all laboratory-confirmed cases and included HPS and non-pulmonary hantavirus infection.

The map below shows the distribution by state of hantavirus cases in the United States from 1993 through 2023.

Data is reported by state only. In order to protect the identities of people who get hantavirus, county-level data cannot be provided. Contact your local or state health department for information about hantavirus disease cases in your area.

Posted on 2026/05/12 08:35 AM