The French patient is «in intensive care in a serious condition.»
Last Updated: May 12, 2026, 7:57 PM EDT
The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has risen to 11, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus. Passengers disembarked the cruise ship in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to be transferred to charter flights back to their home countries. On Monday, 16 American cruise ship passengers arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; 15 are in the quarantine unit and one person who tested positive is in the biocontainment unit, officials said. Two other American cruise ship passengers were flown to Atlanta for «further assessment and care,» officials said.
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May 12, 2026, 3:39 PM EDT
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May 12, 2026, 3:27 PM EDT
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Here’s how the news is developing.
What is hantavirus and how does it spread?
Here’s what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it’s treated and if there are any prevention methods:
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.
Stock photo of a colorized electron micrograph of the Hantavirus.
Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Lib/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
How does hantavirus spread?
Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that is also rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.
Read more about hantavirus here.
May 12, 2026, 7:56 PM EDT
Potential hantavirus case in Illinois not related to ship outbreak, health officials say
The Illinois Department of Health said Tuesday it is investigating a potential case of hantavirus in a Winnebago County resident that is not connected to the MV Hondius outbreak.
«The resident lives in Winnebago County, has not traveled internationally, and has not come in contact with individuals associated with the MV Hondius outbreak,» the health department said in a statement. «They are suspected to have acquired a North American strain of the virus while cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present.»
The individual experienced mild symptoms and did not require hospitalization. The health department said it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on additional testing to confirm if it is a hantavirus case.
Unlike the strain of hantavirus in the cruise outbreak, the North American strains are not known to spread from person-to-person, health officials said.
May 12, 2026, 3:39 PM EDT
American quarantining in Nebraska shares video tour of his room
Jake Rosmarin, who is among the 15 hantavirus-negative passengers quarantining at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after disembarking the MV Hondius cruise ship, shared a video tour of his room on Instagram on Tuesday.
Rosmarin showed off his stationary bike, TV, bed, recliner and desk, saying, “The room is very spacious and comfortable.”
«I’m hoping to give more updates while I’m here. I’m feeling well,» he said.
Rosmarin told ABC News earlier on Tuesday that he is not experiencing any symptoms and plans on remaining in quarantine for the next 42 days.
«I think that is the best decision that’s for me and for my family, and I know that here, I’m in the best care possible,» Rosmarin said.
May 12, 2026, 3:27 PM EDT
Passengers in Nebraska undergoing in-depth interviews, symptom monitoring
Fifteen passengers remain in the quarantine unit and one person remains in the biocontainment unit at Nebraska Medicine, hospital officials said.
The passengers are undergoing in-depth interviews to trace their contacts as well as regular symptom monitoring, officials said.
Personnel assist passengers evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was affected by a hantavirus outbreak, and arrived on a chartered aircraft at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, May 11, 2026.
Hayden Smith/Reuters
May 12, 2026, 3:08 PM EDT
2 people being monitored in Seattle area
Two residents of King County, Washington, are being monitored at home after potentially being exposed to hantavirus, the Seattle and King County Public Health Department said.
The two residents sat on a plane near an ill passenger from the cruise ship; that passenger was removed from the plane and later tested positive, officials said.
The two residents don’t have symptoms and are being monitored, officials said.
«Currently, no one in King County has symptoms of hantavirus and there are no cases of the virus in King County,» the health department said. «The risk to the public remains low.»
A resident of King County is also among the cruise ship passengers now being monitored at the quarantine center in Nebraska, officials added.
