Hantavirus live updates: Health officials provide update on hantavirus outbreak

Teams will bring back Americans to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska.

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Last updated: Monday, May 11, 2026 2:09PM GMT
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Passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship began disembarking on Sunday morning in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where they were transferred to charter flights back to their home countries.

A flight carrying 17 U.S. citizens who were on the ship arrived early on Monday in Nebraska. At least one American tested positive for the virus, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Sunday.

The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus onboard the ship has risen to 10, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.

May 11, 2026, 11:44 AM

What is hantavirus and is there a vaccine?

Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:

What is hantavirus?

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.

How does hantavirus spread?

Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype, the Andes virus, from South America, according to the WHO.

Is there a vaccine?

There are currently no approved vaccines anywhere in the world that specifically protect against the Andes virus, but scientists are working on it.

Read more about hantavirus here.

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May 09, 2026, 4:27 PM GMT

No mandatory quarantine for US passengers: CDC official

A CDC official said Saturday the federal government doesn't plan to have the repatriated American cruise ship passengers quarantine upon arrival in Nebraska.

"We are not quarantining anybody," a CDC official told reporters on a call Saturday.

As of Saturday none of the 17 Americans aboard the cruise have tested positive for the hantavirus, according to CDC officials.

When asked if passengers will be tested, a CDC official said, "it is not recommended to test people that do not have symptoms."

Federal officials walked through their plan for the passengers.

Each passenger is set to be evaluated upon arrival in the U.S., and they may opt to go home and watch for any potential symptoms for 42 days while staying in touch with their state or local health departments, the officials said.

Officials may recommend that passengers doing home-based monitoring limit their activities outside the house to those that don't involve extensive interactions with other people.

While the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska will be available to them, there are no plans to mandate quarantine, according to officials. The officials said they hope the passengers will be in Nebraska for a limited amount of time.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud

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May 09, 2026, 2:52 PM GMT

Spanish authorities preparing port area in Tenerife to receive passengers

Spanish authorities are preparing the port area in Tenerife to receive passengers with repatriation flights scheduled for the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands, according to Reuters.

"To assist those European Union countries that do not have air transport resources available, the European Civil Protection Mechanism has made two aircraft available, and the necessary flights for the transfer will be scheduled throughout the course of today, Saturday," Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said at a press conference Saturday, according to Reuters.

"Disembarkation will be carried out in groups based on nationality, as the minister has stated. Only when the aircraft bound for a specific country is on the runway, ready to fly to that country, will nationals of that country be disembarked and taken there, using transport provided by the Spanish army," Grande-Marlaska said.

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May 09, 2026, 1:27 PM GMT

Canarias vessel expected to arrive early Sunday local time

The Canarias vessel is expected to arrive and be anchored between 4 to 6 a.m. local time Sunday, according to the health ministry in Madrid.

Fourteen Spanish passengers will be the first to be transferred to the Port of Granadilla.

-ABC News' Aicha Elhammar

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May 09, 2026, 11:27 AM GMT

All passengers on M/V Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours

An official from the Canarias Region government said that all passengers on the M/V Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours.

The officials said that the government's plan is to not allow any of the passengers to put members of the population into any type of risk.

If passenger is not ready to be transferred directly to airplane of their destination, then they will not be able to leave the vessel, the officials said.

Leaving by nationality, passengers will be transferred to the port wearing full protective equipment to avoid any contact with Canarias territory and they will be escorted by a few buses via TF1 route to the airport, which will take approximately 15 minutes to reach the airport.

-ABC News' Aicha El Hammar Castano