Hantavirus Quarantine to End for Some US Cruise Passengers

Some US passengers exposed to hantavirus aboard the Hondius cruise ship will be released from isolation next week, including two New Yorkers, as others extend their quarantine period beyond the original May 31 completion date, state public health officials said.Hantavirus Quarantine to End for Some US Cruise PassengersSome US passengers exposed to hantavirus aboard the Hondius cruise ship will be released from isolation next week, including two New Yorkers, as others extend their quarantine period beyond the original May 31 completion date, state public health officials said.The US has been monitoring 18 Americans at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit in Omaha for hantavirus symptoms, including a retired doctor who initially tested positive for the virus but was later medically cleared.The New York State Department of Health said two people at the facility are expected to leave next week, while another will remain in Nebraska until the full incubation period concludes on June 22. Those returning will be transported via non-commercial flights to residences outside of New York City, where they will have no contact with outsiders and will participate in daily monitoring efforts until the quarantine is completed, the health department said in a statement.Details about the remaining passengers haven’t been released. When asked about the plans, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it continues to work with passengers, state and local health departments during the 42-day monitoring period, without providing other details.Hantaviruses are carried by rodents and can cause severe disease in humans. Depending on the strain, they can trigger hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which affects the lungs, or hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which affects the kidneys. In early April, one person on board the Hondius reported respiratory symptoms. Three passengers subsequently died. The Hondius began its evacuation of passengers in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10. The following day, US passengers were brought to rooms at the National Quarantine Unit for monitoring. US officials wavered on whether this quarantine period was voluntary. In early May, Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the CDC, said that most of these passengers would be given the choice to stay in Nebraska for assessment or return to their communities to quarantine “if their home situation allows it.” Later, CDC officials said at a briefing that leadership across the federal government decided to have passengers quarantine in Nebraska until May 31. Hantavirus has an incubation period of 42 days.Given the long incubation period of the virus, it is “not unexpected” that infections will continue to be reported until six weeks have passed since passengers were exposed to the virus, the World Health Organization said in a May 28 statement. The CDC has now shifted much of its focus to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring nations. The agency is sending personnel to Africa to help on the ground even as the US moves to keep out people who’ve been potentially exposed to the virus. ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.