Hantavirus Cruise Ship Outbreak Officially Over After 13 Infected, 3 Dead
Key takeaways
- The cruise MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3, 2026.
- May 20, 2026Ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions says the MV Hondius will depart for its next trip, carrying passengers around the Svalbard islands near the North Pole for seven days, starting June 13.
- World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the risk of hantavirus to the greater population is still “low” and “there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak.”
Topline. The last person to have come into contact with someone confirmed to have the Andes variant of hantavirus completed their six-week quarantine on Thursday, tested negative and returned home, triggering the World Health Organization to declare the cruise ship-linked outbreak officially over.
The cruise MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on May 3, 2026. AFP via Getty Images Timeline JULY 2, 2026Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , director of the WHO, says no new cases of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship outbreak have been reported since May 25, and the outbreak is officially over after killing three people and sickening another 13.
June 11, 2026Angela Perryman, 47, told NBC News federal and state health officials can't decide on the conditions of quarantine she'd be forced to follow for her last 11 days of isolation if she were allowed to go home, so she's instead being held "hostage" at the quarantine center she described as a "prison," adding, “I don’t think there has been a day since I’ve been here that I didn’t cry.” If she goes home, the CDC wants Perryman to be under 24/7 surveillance by a public health official (a condition other states have agreed to), but the Florida surgeon general reportedly told the federal agency it would only enforce a "voluntary" quarantine agreement and that more stringent supervision was "not necessary."