UPDATED: May 11, 2026 at 8:45 a.m. EST
Two people, including one American, have tested positive for the hantavirus after a medical evacuation of the MV Hondius in the Canary Islands this week.
According to USA Today, a French and an American passenger both tested positive ahead of their disembarkation, with the American testing “mildly positive” for the Andes strain of the virus, which is transmissible from human to human, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
According to CNN, seventeen U.S. citizens and one British national living in the U.S. arrived in Omaha, Nebraska around 2:30 a.m. before transferring to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska.
There, the travelers will be checked for symptoms and be given an option to quarantine at home with support and monitoring from local health officials. Many countries are quarantining the travelers upon arrival to their home nations.
U.S. health officials have stated that risk to the general public is low. The medical facility the Americans are visiting was used in the past to isolate COVID-19 and Ebola patients successfully.
The Associated Press also recently reported that another American onboard the repatriation flight began showing mild symptoms while in the air, but has not yet received a diagnosis.
“One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring,” said spokesperson for the Nebraska Medicine network, Kayla Thomas. “The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms.”
ORIGINAL STORY
The MV Hondius cruise ship from Oceanwide Expeditions, which had been anchored off the coast of Western Africa due to suspected hantavirus cases that led to three deaths (and illness in three other people), docked at the port of Granadilla de Abona on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
For the 17 Americans onboard, officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will meet them and the State Department will transport then to a facility in Omaha, Nebraska.
There, the National Quarantine Unit is a part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the only federally funded facility of its kind in the U.S.
A statement on the UNMC website explained, “Unit personnel consists of a voluntary staff of select physicians, nursing, nursing assistants and respiratory therapists specially trained in high-level isolation and bio preparedness.”
“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. We are proud to support this national effort.”
UNMC noted that the individuals being monitored are well with no symptoms of illness. The quarantine process will allow for observation during the incubation period of the virus while eliminating any potential risk of spread.
The National Quarantine Unit has 20 rooms that employ individual negative air pressure systems. The rooms are single occupancy with en-suite bathroom facilities and contain exercise equipment and Wifi connectivity for patients requiring longer stays.
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