Final passengers leave MV Hondius after hantavirus outbreak

While international contact tracing is underway, health officials stress that the risk to the wider public remains low.
Text: Marcus Persson
Published 2026-05-12

We can now confirm that the last passengers of the cruise ship MV Hondius have been evacuated. There's also been confirmation of at least one U.S citizen testing positive for the virus.

According to the U.S. health authorities, there are currently a total of 18 people in the country under observation and receiving care, with most being held in quarantine in Nebraska and a handful of additional patients receiving care in Atlanta.

The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has led to extensive international contact tracing, as the passengers on board came from a large number of different countries. However, the World Health Organization urges the public to remain calm, as it assesses the risk to the general public and the likelihood of widespread transmission to be very low.

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