Monday, May 11, sixteen passengers exposed to Hantavirus from the MV Hondius Cruise arrived in Omaha, Nebraska. Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medicine Center are working together to house and study the exposed passengers in their quarantine unit.  

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, “the ECDC was notified on 2 May 2026 by the Netherlands via the European Union. Early Warning and Response System about a cluster of unknown diseases with severe respiratory symptoms on a cruise ship in the South Atlantic.” 

This disease was discovered to be a variant of Hantavirus called Andes virus, which adapted the rodent-to-human disease into a human-to-human disease through close consistent contact.  

After discovering the spread of Andes virus on the MV Hondius, multiple countries began to refuse the ship any permission to land on their shores. It wasn’t until federal partners such as the U.S.’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention directed the exposed passengers to Nebraska for monitoring. 

Nebraska Medicine and UNMC and were optimal choices due to their position as some of the U.S.’s most specialized facilities for containing highly infectious diseases. They also have had previous experiences with diseases such as Ebola.  

The exposed passengers are being contained in specially designed quarantine units, where healthcare workers are also studying the traits and progression of the variant.  

“We are prepared for situations exactly like this,” said Michael Ash, MD, CEO of Nebraska Medicine. “Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to make sure we can safely provide care while protecting our staff and the broader community” said Ash.