17 Americans Evacuated From Hantavirus-Infested Cruise Ship Land In Red State

A Boeing 747 carrying 17 Americans evacuated from a Dutch-flagged cruise ship tied to a deadly hantavirus outbreak landed in Nebraska overnight, as health officials race to determine how far the illness may have spread.

The aircraft touched down in Omaha just before 2:30 a.m. Monday after a flight of more than nine hours from Tenerife, Spain. The passengers had been aboard the MV Hondius, which departed Argentina on April 1 and crossed the Atlantic with roughly 149 people representing 23 nationalities.

The first signs of trouble appeared April 6, when a Dutch passenger became ill aboard the ship. He died five days later. His body was removed April 24 on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where his wife also disembarked. She flew to South Africa the next day and later died there.

A total of three passengers have died in the outbreak, including the Dutch man, his wife and a German woman who died aboard the ship May 2. Health officials believe the outbreak may trace back to two passengers who were exposed during a birdwatching tour at a landfill in Argentina, where investigators suspect contact with infected rodents.

By the time the ship reached Spain, dozens of passengers had already left. Twenty-nine people disembarked before the outbreak was publicly confirmed, including seven Americans who returned to their home states. Health officials are monitoring those Americans in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Virginia and New Jersey, according to reports.

The 17 passengers flown into Nebraska were not among the Americans who left earlier, officials said. Federal and local authorities routed the group to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, home to a federally funded quarantine facility, for screening and monitoring.

One American passenger has tested positive for hantavirus but is not showing symptoms, U.S. health officials said late Sunday. Another passenger reported mild symptoms.

One person was transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while others were taken to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring.

“The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms,” said Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for the Nebraska Medicine network helping care for the group.

After landing at Eppley Airfield, passengers were transferred to waiting buses and driven away from the airport under supervision.

Travel blogger Jake Rosmarin, who was on the flight, posted a smiling selfie Monday morning, telling followers he was “okay and feeling well.”

“The repatriation flight was smooth, and I safely made it to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha. It’s been a very long few days, but hopefully I can start giving more updates again soon,” he wrote. “A special thank you as well to University of Nebraska Medical Center and the city of Omaha for welcoming us and helping ensure we are safe and cared for.”

A CDC official told The Washington Post officials “hope” the time in Nebraska will be limited.

“The overall monitoring period will be 42 days, but this is not necessarily all [happening] in Nebraska,” the official said, adding that authorities are “working with the passengers about what they feel most comfortable doing.”

Hantavirus is usually spread by inhaling particles from contaminated rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes strain linked to the cruise ship outbreak has raised additional concerns because it can spread person-to-person in rare cases.

17 American passengers who evacuated the hantavirus-hit cruise ship are expected to land in Omaha overnight Monday. One person has tested positive and is not experiencing symptoms. ABC reports another passenger has mild symptoms. pic.twitter.com/FwyqzQSZhp

— KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) May 11, 2026

The World Health Organization has sought to tamp down fears, warning the risk to the broader public remains low.

“This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn´t be scared, and they shouldn’t panic,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday.

WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove called it the first-ever hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship and urged tight follow-up for those exposed. The agency is recommending “active monitoring and follow-up,” including daily health checks either at home or in a specialized facility, she said.

RELATED: Passengers Disembark From Hantavirus-Infected Cruise Ship

Spain’s health ministry said medical teams escorted passengers from ship to shore in Tenerife using protective gear and strict protocols. Officials said evacuations continued Monday, with additional repatriation flights planned for other nationalities.

International monitoring has expanded beyond the ship itself. Four Canadians who were asymptomatic when the Hondius docked in Spain have returned to British Columbia and were ordered to quarantine, according to reports. Canadian health officials also identified several other people, from Quebec, Alberta and Ontario, who were not on the ship but may have come into contact with an infected person while traveling.

RELATED: NEW: Officials Identify Patient Zero In Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak 

Symptoms can take one to eight weeks to appear, and officials say the timeline complicates efforts to track potential exposure across multiple countries and transit points. Health authorities have urged passengers and their contacts to report fever, chills and muscle aches immediately.

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>