Eighteen American passengers from the Dutch‑registered cruise liner MV Hondius arrived in the United States early Monday after a hantavirus outbreak aboard the ship. Sixteen were placed in a quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, while one mildly positive case entered a high‑security biocontainment ward. Two others were transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Health officials said the virus is the Andes virus subtype, a rare rodent‑borne hantavirus capable of person‑to‑person spread. Three passengers died during the cruise, and dozens fell ill before the vessel docked in the Canary Islands. With no specific treatment or vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control will evaluate each passenger individually before allowing home quarantine, citing a 42‑day incubation period.

Admiral Brian Christine, the HHS assistant secretary for health, told reporters the public risk remains extremely low. Patients in Omaha are asymptomatic and resting, while the biocontainment occupant shows no symptoms and maintains appetite. The episode underscores the need for rapid evacuation protocols, but it does not currently appear to affect travel or in the cruise industry revenues at this stage.