Monitoring period closes without U.S. spread
Quarantine has ended for 18 Americans who had been passengers on the MV Hondius and were exposed to hantavirus more than a month ago.
The 42-day monitoring period ended on June 21. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said “no sustained transmission” of the virus has been identified in the United States.
Some passengers stayed in Nebraska
Six of the 18 passengers completed their full quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. Others were allowed to leave earlier on a case-by-case basis over the past several weeks, depending on whether their home states had adequate public health mitigation measures in place.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, this response demonstrated the effectiveness of coordinated public health action,” the HHS spokesperson said. “Through close collaboration among federal, state and local partners, HHS helped protect the American people, contain potential risks and bring this response effort to a successful conclusion.”
Passenger shares emotional final moments
One of the quarantined Americans, Jake Rosmarin, posted a video on Instagram showing a countdown clock reaching zero as he began to cry. Rosmarin said the clock had been set up by the National Quarantine Unit for those staying at the facility.
He also wrote that his group was given a tour of the facility after leaving quarantine and had dinner with the staff.
“I got to get fresh air without a mask on for the first time in 42 days,” Rosmarin wrote on another Instagram photo.
Why Rosmarin chose to remain at NQU
Rosmarin, who had been traveling alone on the cruise ship, previously said he wanted to remain in Nebraska for the full 42 days. He said the facility offered quick access to medical care and testing, with testing conducted twice a week.
WHO first reported the cruise ship cluster
The World Health Organization said it was notified on May 2 of a cluster of “severe acute respiratory illness” aboard the MV Hondius. At that time, the cluster included two deaths and one critically ill passenger.
By May 27, there had been 13 total hantavirus cases connected to the ship, including 11 confirmed and two probable cases. Three deaths had been reported, two of which were confirmed, according to the WHO.
All cases tied to passengers or crew
All identified cases involved passengers or crew members from the MV Hondius. The WHO said the working hypothesis is that the first case acquired hantavirus on land before boarding the cruise ship.
Confirmed cases linked to Andes virus
The 11 confirmed cases tested positive for Andes virus, a rare strain of hantavirus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Andes virus is the only known hantavirus strain that can spread from person to person.
Public health response reaches its end
With the 42-day monitoring period complete and no sustained transmission detected in the United States, federal health officials have closed a closely watched quarantine response involving cruise passengers, state health agencies and national public health teams.
