Hantavirus live updates: CDC team will bring American cruise ship passengers back to quarantine unit

Key Points:

• The Canarias Region government plans to evacuate all passengers from the M/V Hondius within 24 hours, ensuring no risk to the local population by requiring passengers to wear full protective equipment and be escorted directly to the airport.
• The CDC has issued an alert to U.S. doctors and health departments about potential hantavirus cases linked to the cruise ship, though the risk of widespread transmission in the U.S. is currently considered extremely unlikely.
• At least nine U.S. residents from six states are being monitored for hantavirus symptoms after exposure on the M/V Hondius, but none have shown signs of illness so far.
• The CDC has deployed teams to the Canary Islands and Nebraska to assess exposure risks for American passengers and to support public health monitoring and quarantine procedures upon their return.
• American passengers will be repatriated via a U.S. government medical flight to Nebraska and quarantined at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, with additional CDC support at Offutt Air Force Base for ongoing health assessments.