Health officials are continuing to monitor passengers who were aboard the cruise ship at the center of the deadly hantavirus outbreak, with the World Health Organization now reporting nine cases following the outbreak.
Of those cases, seven are confirmed for hantavirus, including three deaths, Dr. Olivier De Polain, from the WHO’s Epidemiology and Analytics Response department, said at a Monday news conference.
Alongside President Donald Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kenney Jr. said Monday: “We have this under control, and we’re not worried about it.”
Eighteen Americans who were aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship disembarked Sunday after the ship anchored near Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a team of epidemiologists and medical professionals was sent to Spain to conduct exposure risk assessments for each U.S. passenger and provide recommendations for the level of monitoring required.
The CDC said the Americans will be flown to the Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, before being transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska.
There, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, said the passengers will be checked for symptoms and given the option to quarantine at home with support and monitoring from local health officials.
The first day of evacuations ended Sunday with a total of 94 passengers of 19 nationalities evacuated from the ship, Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said at a news conference. Passengers were taken from the ship to shore in small boats and transported to Tenerife airport in military buses, without coming into contact with the public, according to Reuters.
“The operation has gone well and according to the plan,” García said at the news conference Sunday. The final evacuation flights are scheduled to depart on Monday.
Mary Walrath-Holdridge
The eighteen Americans evacuated from the MV Hondius may not know if they are sick for weeks after disembarking, health experts say. The evacuated passengers will enter quarantine in Nebraska after returning to the states, HHS said on Sunday, May 10, where they will be evaluated for symptoms and their risk of spreading the virus.
Hantaviruses have a long incubation period, Dr. Scott Weaver, Director of the Institute for Human Infections & Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Center Director for the Global Virus Network, told USA TODAY.
Previous outbreaks in other countries have shown that the incubation period, or the time it takes for someone to show symptoms after exposure, can be as long as six to eight weeks, posing a challenge for quarantine measures. Fortunately, people with hantavirus are generally considered not to be contagious if they aren’t showing signs of illness, which also helps with tracing and limiting the spread.
“People are only infectious for about two to three days before they develop symptoms and then while they have symptoms,” said Weaver. “So, if somebody knows exactly when their symptoms developed and they know who they may have been in contact with two to three days earlier, they can narrow down the list of people who have to be monitored.”
Charles Trepany
The MV Hondius – the cruise ship at the center of the deadly hantavirus outbreak – is en route toward Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where it is expected to arrive Sunday. As for what will happen to the ship when it arrives, that’s still being finalized, per a press release from the cruise line.
Twenty-seven people remain on board the vessel – 25 crew members and two medical professionals – as well as the body of a German guest, who died on the ship on May 2. All guests’ luggage also still remains on board.
The release added the ship will undergo thorough sanitization once it reaches port, but the exact cleaning procedures are still being decided, in coordination with several organizations, including the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health and Rotterdam Port Health Authority.
Michael Loria and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed concerns about the hantavirus and about the impact that the U.S. leaving the World Health Organization might have on its spread.
Trump called the U.S. handling of the deadly virus “fine.” Asked by USA TODAY whether he had regrets over leaving the WHO, the president said, “No, I’m glad” to have left.
“The thing with this one is it’s much harder to catch,” said Trump of hantavirus when speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. “It seems like it’s not easy to spread, in fact it’s in certain ways very hard to spread. We’ve lived with it for many years and we think we’re in very great shape.”
Charles Trepany
Another case of hantavirus has been detected in Spain.
Mónica García, the country’s minister of health, announced on X Monday that one of the Spanish passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship has “tested provisionally positive” for hantavirus via PCR test. The passenger is currently being isolated at Gómez Ulla Hospital, a military hospital in Madrid.
“The individual remains isolated, asymptomatic, and in good general condition, under continuous clinical monitoring and in accordance with established safety and epidemiological control protocols,” García said. The other 13 Spanish passengers, she added, have tested provisionally negative.
“In the coming hours, we will know the definitive results,” she said.
Natalie Neysa Alund
The MV Hondius set sail for the Netherlands on Monday night after evacuating passengers on board from nearly two dozen countries, officials reported.
The cruise ship, now bound for the Port of Rotterdam, had been docked at the industrial port of Granadilla in the Spanish island off West Africa before departing.
Natalie Neysa Alund
Olivier le Polain, unit head of epidemiology and analytics for response at the WHO, said cases continued to grow Monday due to length of symptom onset after contracting the virus.
“We know the incubation period for hantavirus, and the Andes virus, it is very long,” he said in an update from the WHO.
On average, le Polain said, people who have acquired the virus develop symptoms about three weeks after exposure but can develop them up to as long as six weeks later.
“That incubation period means that we can see cases again coming up in the next few days, perhaps even next week. That’s why we need to remain vigilant, make sure that at the first sign of symptoms people are being recognized, isolated and taken care of,” he said, emphasizing it was encouraging to see the ship’s disembarkation process “went smoothly… and that people are now also being quarantined at home and facilities.”
Sara Moniuszko and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
President Donald Trump and his top health administrators are responding to concerns from infectious disease experts that the country isn’t prepared for public health threats amid hantavirus.
In response to USA TODAY asking about the administration’s reaction to these concerns, Trump first handed the question off to Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Doc, you want to answer that?” the president said at a press briefing to discuss the launch of Moms.gov, a website aimed at providing resources for expecting women.
“It’s just not true,” Oz said. “The country is prepared, and the CDC is focused on it, and the agency is well aware of the opportunities to actually treat this problem, not just try to prevent in the future, but treat if it happens.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. added, “We have this under control, and we’re not worried about it.”
Kennedy added, “As soon as we determined that the virus was out there, we issued an alert.”
A day before the health alert was issued, Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s chief executive officer, called on the administration to act and issue an alert: “This to me, (is) not overstating. It is a travesty in terms of NIH response,” she said.
Trump also said he doesn’t regret withdrawing from the World Health Organization. “No, I’m glad,” he said.
Natalie Neysa Alund
As of Monday, a total of nine cases tied to the hantavirus outbreak, including three deaths, have been reported by the World Health Organization.
The total number is up from eight cases reported by the WHO on May 8.
The latest case was reported by France on Monday and involved a passenger who disembarked the ship one day earlier, Olivier le Polain, unit head of epidemiology and analytics for response with the WHO, said.
That person was in isolation on Monday, Le Polain said.
In addition, le Polain said test results were also pending for one person from the ship with an inconclusive case.
Sara Moniuszko
During a news briefing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center on Monday, officials addressed the “mildly positive” test that has caused some confusion on social media.
“Can’t be mildly positive for the virus. It’s either positive or negative. Stop downplaying,” one user shared on X.
Capt. Brendan Jackson, physician and acting director of the CDC’s Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said this passenger’s test was not collected in the United States, but was taken on the ship.
“There were two specimens, one was positive, and the other one was negative,” he explained, adding PCR tests can have a range where they can fall.
“So for that reason, we want to make sure there’s further testing to evaluate that at this point more,” he said.
Melina Khan
Two passengers – including one who is symptomatic – have been sent to a biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, for “further assessment,” officials said at a news briefing on Monday.
The individuals are a couple, said Matthew Ferreira, an official with the Department of Health and Human Services.
“It is a couple. I’m not sure of their exact situation. The plane just landed recently in Atlanta, and the passengers were taken to Emory. But because of their situation on the ship, they were traveling together to Emory,” Ferreira said.
Emory University confirmed in a statement that its Serious Communicable Diseases Unit is overseeing the two individuals’ care.
“One symptomatic individual is receiving care in Emory’s biocontainment unit, and one asymptomatic individual—identified as a close contact—is undergoing evaluation and monitoring,” the statement said.
Melina Khan
At a news briefing from the University of Nebraska early on May 11, officials confirmed that the American passengers arrived last night and are now being assessed.
Two individuals have been transferred to Atlanta for further testing, officials said at the briefing. The rest are on site at the University of Nebraska.
“Over the next several days, passengers will undergo an initial health assessment and receive guidance on next steps from the CDC experts,” said John Knox, the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
The risk to the rest of the country remains low, said Adm. Brian Christine, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Natalie Neysa Alund
Nearly 150 people from 23 countries including the United States were on board the MV Hondius when a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses among passengers was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 3, Oceanwide Expeditions, which operates the Netherlands-based expedition cruise, said.
By then, 34 other passengers had departed the vessel, which first sailed from the South American country of Argentina in March, with stops in the Antarctic and other locations before heading to waters off Cape Verde near the coast of West Africa.
Contributing: Reuters
Natalie Neysa Alund
The MV Hondius at the center of the hantavirus outbreak refueled on Monday morning in Tenerife, ahead of the cruise ship’s last passenger evacuations, Reuters reported.
The vessel remained docked at the industrial port of Granadilla in the Spanish island off West Africa as of about 12:30 p.m. local time.
During a Monday news conference, Spain’s health minister Monica Garcia said after the last passengers are evacuated, the ship will sail for the Netherlands, with about 30 crew members on board.
The journey to the Port of Rotterdam is expected to take about five days, according to a news release from Oceanwide Expeditions, which operates the Netherlands-based expedition cruise.
Melina Khan
Jan Dobrogowski, the captain of the MV Hondius, said the past few weeks have been “extremely challenging” in a new video message.
“I wish nothing more to everybody, guests and crew alike, to be able to go home safely and in good health,” Dobrogowski said in the video, which was shared by Oceanwide Expeditions on May 11.
He thanked the crew members and guests onboard, who he said displayed “unity and a quiet strength” during the outbreak.
“What touched me the most, what moved me the most was your patience, your discipline and also kindness – kindness that you showed to each other throughout,” Dobrogowski said, adding that his thoughts are with the three passengers who died.
Charles Trepany
Shaina Montiel says her mother stills cries thinking about her harrowing experience with hantavirus at age 5, which, according to the CDC, can have a fatality rate up to 38%, depending on the type of syndrome caused by it. At the time of her infection, Montiel says one of her doctors remarked that she was the youngest patient they’d seen yet survive the virus.
Now 38, Montiel says it’s been surreal watching the little-known virus that almost took her life three decades ago make international headlines over the past week, as a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship has stoked fear around the world. By sharing her own story, Montiel hopes she can help others both understand the gravity of a hantavirus infection, while keeping anxiety about far-reaching spread in perspective.
“When I caught it, nobody else in my family caught it,” Montiel says. “There’s nobody else in my neighborhood that caught it. So I think I was just very unlucky.”
Natalie Neysa Alund
Spain’s government announced the evacuation of the last passengers and crew of the MV Hondius was set to take place on Monday.
“Refueling completed. Provisioning in process,” the country’s interior minister said in a post on X. “After that, everything ready for the evacuation of the last passengers and crew this afternoon.”
As of early May 11, the cruise ship remained docked at the industrial port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
The ship was slated to depart the port at 7 p.m. local time.
Natalie Neysa Alund
The United Nation’s Secretary General on Monday said the agency backs the Spanish government as it oversees the ongoing hantavirus outbreak in “close coordination” with the World Health Organization.
“I want to express my support for the government of Spain & others as they manage the #hantavirus in close coordination with our @WHO colleagues,” António Guterres wrote in post on X. “While the current public health risk from the virus remains low, it’s important that international health efforts ensure the safety of all, including passengers & crew of the MV Hondius.”
Nicole Fallert
Two people have tested positive for hantavirus after being evacuated from a luxury cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak, health authorities said, as Spain prepared on Monday to evacuate and repatriate the last passengers remaining on the vessel.
A French and a U.S. national are among the positive cases, according to the BBC and Reuters.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Sunday that one of the 17 Americans being repatriated had tested mildly positive for the Andes strain of the virus, while a second person had shown mild symptoms.
The last 24 passengers still on board the MV Hondius are set to be evacuated on Monday afternoon from the cruise ship, now anchored near Spain’s Atlantic island of Tenerife, according to Spanish authorities coordinating the evacuations.
Contributing: Reuters
Thao Nguyen
On Sunday, 94 cruise passengers boarded repatriation flights from Spain to eight or more home countries, according to Spanish health officials.
Passengers and crew members were screened earlier and found to be asymptomatic, but one of the five French passengers showed symptoms during the repatriation flight, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on X.
Eight others have fallen ill in cases linked to the cruise, with six confirmed hantavirus cases and three deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus was first detected by health officials in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 2 after a British man became sick and was taken into intensive care, 21 days after another passenger had died. The man’s health has since improved, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing a WHO official.
Four remain hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland. On the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory, a suspected case is being treated by a team of medical specialists who were parachuted in by the United Kingdom military.
Contributing: Reuters
Daniel de Visé
The 17 U.S. citizens who were aboard the MV Hondius disembarked from the ship and departed Spain on Sunday, according to officials. They will be taken to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, where some are expected to be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska.
Upon arrival at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the passengers will be checked for symptoms and interviewed by personnel from the CDC to determine the risk that they were exposed to hantavirus, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
If the passengers have no symptoms and no contact with anyone symptomatic, they will be deemed low risk. In that case, Bhattacharya said, they will have the option to return home, rather than stay at the national quarantine center.
CDC officials will extend “an offer to stay in Nebraska if they’d like,” Bhattacharya said. But they will be allowed to return home, he added, if they can get there “without exposing other people on the way.”
Once home, Bhattacharya said, the passengers can report to state and local public health agencies. Any Americans who develop symptoms or choose to be quarantined will stay at the Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center, the only federally funded National Quarantine Unit in the United States, according to its website.
Thao Nguyen
The final two flights to evacuate passengers from the cruise ship will depart Spain on Monday afternoon, according to Spanish Health Minister Mónica García.
One flight to Australia will carry six passengers while another from the Netherlands will take 18 passengers, García said at the news conference Sunday. Both flights will also transport passengers from other countries which did not send their own repatriation flights, officials have said.
Passengers will be tested upon arrival, and then will be taken to either local hospitals or quarantine facilities or transported home for isolation.
Contributing: Reuters