Seventeen American passengers returned to U.S. soil Monday after weeks trapped aboard a cruise ship ravaged by a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has already claimed three lives. One passenger tested positive during the emergency medical flight to Nebraska, while another showed symptoms of the disease.

Emergency Medical Evacuation From Canary Islands

The Americans departed the MV Hondius cruise ship in the Canary Islands Sunday after the Dutch-flagged vessel became the center of an unprecedented hantavirus crisis. The U.S. government arranged a specialized medical repatriation flight to transport passengers to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska. During the flight, two passengers required isolation in biocontainment units aboard the aircraft, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The cruise departed southern Argentina on April 1, following an itinerary across remote South Atlantic islands. Nearly 150 passengers from 23 countries remain under monitoring protocols. French health officials confirmed Monday that one French woman also tested positive for hantavirus after returning to Paris with four other French passengers. The World Health Organization reports at least eight confirmed cases and three deaths from the outbreak.

America’s Elite Quarantine Facility Prepares

Most returning passengers will undergo evaluation at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the only federally funded quarantine facility in the United States. The symptomatic passenger will receive treatment at another specialized center. Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at UNMC, described the facility as the premier treatment center globally for handling infectious disease cases.

The Nebraska medical center previously handled passengers from the Diamond Princess Cruise in early 2020, one of the first COVID-19 superspreading events. Unlike that pandemic, scientists have studied hantaviruses for decades. The Andes variant responsible for this outbreak can be deadly but requires prolonged close contact with symptomatic individuals to spread. Dr. Khan emphasized this outbreak will not become a pandemic.

Weeks Of Monitoring Ahead For Passengers

Health officials will not formally quarantine the returning Americans, but passengers face up to 42 days of monitoring as symptoms can take weeks to appear after exposure. Seven additional U.S. passengers who departed the cruise earlier are being monitored in Texas, California, Georgia, and Virginia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed most returning passengers remain healthy, though clinical assessments will continue. Some passengers may complete monitoring at home with daily health department check-ins rather than remaining at the Nebraska facility.