US cruise passengers with hantavirus could return home before 42-day symptom period

American passengers quarantining after exposure to a deadly outbreak of hantavirus on a Dutch cruise ship could soon be allowed to return home, with health officials signalling that their mandatory stay at monitoring facilities may end as early as the end of the month.

Eighteen US citizens were repatriated from the MV Hondius and taken to a specialised quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, as well as to a facility in Georgia, after the rare rodent-borne illness swept through the vessel. The passengers arrived there just over two weeks ago, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that they may be released from quarantine on 31 May — the 21st day of their observation period.

Twenty-one days or 42? The science behind the decision

The incubation period for hantavirus can stretch up to 42 days, raising the question of why American officials have so far only committed to holding passengers until the three-week mark. The answer lies in the typical behaviour of the disease. The Southern Nevada Health District explains that most people who develop symptoms do so within a critical window of 21 days after exposure.

“With regards to those that are in Nebraska, a decision was made across the leadership in the US government to have the passengers stay in Nebraska until May 31, which marks the 21st day of their monitoring period,” Dr David Fitter, the CDC incident manager for the outbreak response, told reporters at a news briefing on 19 May.

However, quarantine time is not fixed. Officials have stressed that each passenger’s risk will be assessed individually, and some may be required to remain in place for the full 42-day period. “A blanket statement as far as duration would be difficult to make,” Dr Michael Wadman, medical director of Nebraska’s national quarantine unit, said last week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 42-day quarantine with active follow-up for high-risk contacts, reflecting the maximum incubation period. The CDC has justified its stringent approach by citing the potential for asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic transmission of the Andes virus — the strain involved in this outbreak — the severity of the disease, and the lack of specific treatments or vaccines. The agency says the quarantine is designed to protect communities by allowing early detection and preventing secondary spread.

Passengers speak out: ‘It’s a perfectly nice prison’

Several quarantined passengers have expressed deep frustration with the response from health authorities, describing their confinement as involuntary and calling for the right to quarantine at home.

“I’m held here involuntarily, so in that sense it’s a prison term — I mean, it’s a perfectly nice prison, but I’m still here involuntarily,” one anonymous passenger, a 30-year-old New York man, told reporters. He reportedly received a quarantine order from the CDC. Another passenger, 47-year-old Angela Perryman, said: “They are requiring us to remain in a locked facility and threatening us, and denying us the right to home quarantine.”

The passengers’ displeasure stems partly from an apparent policy shift. According to the research briefing, some US passengers had initially been encouraged to self-quarantine at home and had made arrangements with state health departments — but then, on or around 17–19 May, the CDC issued formal quarantine orders requiring them to stay at the Nebraska facility. This left some feeling “blindsided” and “misled”.

A further point of contention is a newly suggested requirement that a monitor wait outside the homes of passengers for the remaining three weeks of quarantine, should they be allowed to leave the facility early. According to two anonymous passengers, New York State has allegedly declined to permit its residents to return home under those conditions, although discussions are ongoing. The Independent’s requests for comment from the state health department and Governor Kathy Hochul’s office were not immediately returned.

At least one passenger has reportedly intended to challenge the quarantine orders legally.

Origins of the outbreak and the virus behind it

The outbreak was identified in April 2026 aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which had departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April and included stops in Antarctica and various South Atlantic islands. The strain involved is Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to be capable of limited human-to-human transmission — typically through close and prolonged contact, respiratory droplets, or saliva. The WHO has stressed that this transmission is rare and not comparable to viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

As of 27 May 2026, a total of 13 cases (11 confirmed and two probable) had been linked to the voyage, including three deaths (two confirmed and one probable). The first death occurred on 11 April aboard the ship. None of the deceased were from the United States. The US has no confirmed cases of Andes virus related to this outbreak. One American who reported symptoms has since tested negative, and another passenger who initially tested “faintly” positive also subsequently tested negative.

The ship initially faced a standoff when Cape Verde refused it docking rights over public health concerns. Spain later allowed the vessel to dock in the Canary Islands for a thorough investigation and disinfection, after which passengers underwent medical screenings before repatriation to countries including Canada, France, the Netherlands and Spain.

Risk remains low

Hantavirus is typically detected in the US through direct exposure to infected rodents in the Southwest, but new research from Washington State University has shown a “high prevalence” of the virus in the Pacific Northwest as well. However, the CDC says the risk of hantavirus spread in the US from this incident remains extremely low. The WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wrote on social media platform X that the situation is “stable for now”, adding: “All passengers and crew remain in quarantine and under close monitoring to ensure they receive care if needed.”

The WHO has assessed the global risk from this cruise-ship outbreak as low, emphasising that it is not comparable to a pandemic. New York State officials have stated there is no immediate risk to New Yorkers, as the three residents associated with the outbreak remain under quarantine in Nebraska. Early symptoms of Andes virus infection are flu-like — fever, fatigue and muscle pain — but can progress to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock.