17 American passengers from hantavirus-linked cruise ship offered quarantine at Nebraska's National Quarantine Unit

Following an Andes virus outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, U.S. federal and state officials offered 17 evacuated American passengers the option to be monitored at Nebraska's National Quarantine Unit in Omaha. Three people connected to the outbreak have died, and several passengers have tested positive for the rare Andes strain, which can spread person-to-person in rare cases involving close contact. Currently asymptomatic, the passengers may choose to quarantine at the facility or return home under CDC guidance. Nebraska Medicine operates the only federally funded quarantine unit designed for high-consequence infectious diseases, featuring 20 negative-pressure isolation rooms. Officials stressed there is no public health risk from the quarantine operation, as the facility was specifically engineered to prevent community exposure. The Andes strain typically spreads through infected rodent droppings, with symptoms appearing one to eight weeks post-exposure.