Seventeen American cruise passengers are expected to return to the United States early Monday after spending weeks aboard the M/V Hondius, the cruise ship now at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak.

One U.S. passenger has tested “mildly positive” for the Andes strain of hantavirus, while another American is showing mild symptoms, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services X post. 

HHS through @ASPRgov and @CDCgov is supporting @StateDept in the repatriation of 17 American citizens from the MV Hondius cruise ship affected by the Andes variant of hantavirus.

All 17 are currently en route via @StateDept airlift to the United States, with two of the…

— HHS (@HHSGov) May 11, 2026

Both passengers are being transported in biocontainment units and are expected to be evaluated at specialized facilities in Nebraska.

The outbreak has already turned deadly. As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, several passengers aboard the ship have fallen ill, with six confirmed cases and three deaths tied to the outbreak. 

Reuters reported that the deaths included a Dutch couple and a German national.

The M/V Hondius had been carrying passengers on an expedition cruise before the health emergency triggered an international response. The ship eventually arrived in Tenerife, Spain, where passengers from multiple countries began being evacuated or repatriated.

The infected American and the passenger showing symptoms are being handled under stricter medical precautions. The remaining U.S. passengers will be evaluated after arriving at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, home to national quarantine and biocontainment units. 

Passengers who are not considered direct contacts of symptomatic individuals may be classified as lower risk and monitored by public health officials.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the risk to the American public remains “extremely low,” while still activating a response to monitor the outbreak and help state and local health departments.

Hantavirus is usually spread through exposure to infected rodents, especially through urine, droppings, or saliva. 

The Andes strain, however, differs from the more common hantavirus strains seen in the United States because it can, in rare cases, spread between people through close contact. Health officials have stressed that the virus does not spread like COVID-19.

Acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said Americans “shouldn’t be panicking” and argued that the situation is not comparable to the COVID pandemic. Still, the fact that a cruise ship outbreak has killed three people and now produced at least one positive test among returning Americans is raising obvious concern.

The case is another reminder that international travel can quickly become a public health issue when governments, cruise operators, and medical agencies are forced to respond across borders. For now, federal officials insist the general public faces low risk.

But after COVID, Americans have every reason to demand complete transparency from public health officials from the beginning.

The post BREAKING: One U.S. Cruise Passenger Returning to America Tests “Mildly Positive” for Hantavirus After Deadly Outbreak appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.