After Days on the Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship, 17 Americans Have Been Evacuated – What We Know

For days, seventeen Americans remained at sea aboard a cruise ship linked to multiple deaths from a rare and poorly understood virus, with federal agencies in Washington racing to bring them home.

Now, with a government-chartered airlift underway and two passengers traveling inside the plane's biocontainment units, those Americans are finally heading back to US soil.

The 17 American passengers aboard the MV Hondius, the Netherlands-based expedition cruise ship at the center of the outbreak, were evacuated Sunday from Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands.

One passenger has tested mildly positive for the Andes virus and another is showing mild symptoms, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Along with a British national who resides in the United States, all are now being flown to a specialized treatment facility in Omaha, Nebraska.

A Voyage Across Some of the World's Most Remote Waters

The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, in the far south of Argentina, on April 1, 2026, carrying 147 people from 23 countries on an expedition voyage across the South Atlantic Ocean.

Its route took passengers to some of the planet's most isolated destinations, including Antarctica, South Georgia Island, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension Island, and the British island of Saint Helena.

The first sign of serious illness emerged on April 6, when a male passenger reported fever, headache, and mild diarrhea. His condition worsened, and he passed away on board on April 11.

His wife, also traveling on the ship, was evacuated to South Africa, where she passed away on April 26.

Both were Dutch nationals who had traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip before boarding, visiting sites "where the species of rat that's known to carry Andes virus was present."

A third passenger, a German woman, passed away on board on 2 May. By 6 May, eight cases in total had been linked to the outbreak.

Laboratory testing confirmed the strain as the Andes virus, a variant originating in South America that is, according to a CDC Health Alert, the only known type of hantavirus documented to spread from person to person.

That transmission, health officials stressed, is rare and requires close, prolonged contact.

As the number of cases mounted, the ship's own doctor also tested positive. Passengers were without formal medical leadership at the most critical point of the voyage.

The Doctor Who Kept the Ship Together

Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an oncologist from Bend, Oregon, had joined the MV Hondius for bird-watching. He quickly found himself doing something very different.

After the ship's doctor tested positive, Kornfeld stepped in to lead the response, telling ABC News that he had not anticipated the scale of what he was walking into:

"It just kind of escalated to within 24 hours after I stepped in."

Within that first day, one patient had passed away, the ship's physician and another staff member were becoming progressively more unwell, and news of hantavirus had begun to reach the outside world.

Despite the crisis, Kornfeld said passengers and crew quickly came together to support one another. "There were a lot of people kind of helping and working, and it really felt like a team," he said:

"These people have started to become my family."

Kornfeld admitted the experience had left him feeling somewhat vulnerable, but said growing confidence among the Americans on board came from the fact that days had passed without anyone developing symptoms.

He also expressed relief knowing they would soon have access to specialized medical care in the United States.

Even amid the uncertainty, Kornfeld maintained a sense of humor about the group's next destination, joking that he had never expected bird-watching to eventually bring him to Nebraska.

The Scale of the US Government Response

The evacuation of American passengers triggered a coordinated response across multiple federal agencies. HHS, through its Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the CDC, worked alongside the State Department to arrange the airlift and manage repatriation.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said federal agencies were working closely with international partners to safely return the Americans exposed to the Andes variant of hantavirus aboard the cruise ship.

He added that protecting the health and safety of US citizens remained the government's top priority and that leading medical and public health resources had been mobilized as part of the response.

Two passengers traveled in the aircraft's biocontainment units as a precaution. The group is headed to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, home to the National Quarantine Unit, the country's only federally funded quarantine center.

The 20-bed unit opened in November 2019, equipped with negative air pressure systems specifically designed to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. The CDC confirmed there is no mandatory quarantine for the group.

Upon arrival, each passenger will undergo a clinical assessment. Those deemed at low risk may return to their homes, where they will continue to be monitored by local health officials for up to 42 days following their last potential exposure, in line with CDC guidance.

Acting CDC director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya was pointed in his response to comparisons with COVID-19. "This is not Covid," he said:

"And we don't want to treat it like Covid. We don't want to cause a public panic over this."

Why Six States Are Now Keeping Watch

Before Sunday's evacuation, a number of US passengers had already made their way home, leading health departments across the country to begin monitoring them.

Residents in Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, and New Jersey are currently being tracked for signs of potential exposure. All are reported to be asymptomatic and in good health, according to their respective state health departments.

New Jersey added a detail that extended the picture beyond the ship itself. The two residents being monitored there were not passengers on the MV Hondius at all.

According to the New Jersey Department of Health, both were potentially exposed to an infected individual during air travel abroad. "At this time, the risk to the general public in New Jersey remains very low," the department said in a statement on 8 May.

'Mask Up Everyone'

Online, the evacuation reignited memories of earlier global health scares, with reactions ranging from calm reassurance to visible anxiety.

"Dangerous viruses do not spread that easily so we should be fine," one reader wrote. Others were more weary. "I'm so tired. Really hoping it doesn't spread but I'm very pessimistic," one commenter shared.

"I feel very sorry for the people in all of the places this cruise visited," another wrote. Another kept it short, "Mask up everyone."

For now, officials continue stressing that the risk to the broader public remains low. But after days spent isolated at sea aboard a ship linked to the rare and deadly Hantavirus, the Americans aboard the MV Hondius are finally heading home.