Hantavirus-hit cruise ship arrives in Netherlands, ending long and deadly voyage

Health newsHantavirus-hit cruise ship docks in the Netherlands after long, deadly voyageThe MV Hondius docked in Rotterdam early Monday for disinfection after a deadly outbreak of the rare disease that put authorities across the world on alert.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleCDC Says There Are Now No Known Hantavirus Cases in the US02:21Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 18, 2026, 4:43 AM EDTBy Patrick SmithThe hantavirus-stricken cruise ship arrived Monday in the Netherlands, ending a seven-week, 8,500 mile journey that was hit by up to 11 infections and three deaths from the rare disease.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The MV Hondius cruise ship docked in Rotterdam just after 4:30 a.m. ET for disinfection after putting authorities across the world on alert thanks to the deadly outbreak of a communicable strain of the virus primarily spread by rodents. Only Captain Jan Dobrogowski and 26 crew members remained on board, with most passengers — including 18 Americans — under quarantine in their home countries. The body of a German man who died at sea was also on the ship.The ship set off from the Antarctic city of Ushuaia in Southern Argentina on April 1 with almost 150 people on board, on a nature sight-seeing expedition that took in some of the world’s most remote islands.A World Health Organization investigation is underway to pinpoint the origin of the virus but a working theory is that the first person to contract the disease may have been exposed to rodents on a bird-watching trip.There have so far been nine laboratory-confirmed cases among people who were on board the Hondius and two suspected cases. The incubation period for hantavirus is up to six weeks and on Saturday it was revealed a Canadian Hondius passenger tested positive last week and is being treated in hospital. Like other patients, the passenger has the Andes strain which can...