The outbreak of the rare hantavirus illness has ended, with no cases in the U.S., and all those who had been under quarantine orders have been allowed to leave the facility where they’d been held for more than a month.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that the quarantine ended this week.
“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,” spokesperson Emily Hilliard told The Associated Press in an email.
“Protecting Americans is our highest responsibility. CDC’s hantavirus response officially concludes June 24, 2026,” acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.
The quarantine started after an outbreak on the MV Hondius last month. Three people died and 120 people were evacuated from the ship.
There were a total of 13 cases, confirmed and suspected, of the virus, including the three who died, ABC News reported.
It is believed that a Dutch couple was the first exposed to the virus while traveling in South America.
About 25 Americans were on the ship; seven left the ship in April and 18 remained on board and were evacuated, eventually being taken to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, the AP reported.
Some left before the end of the 42-day period, agreeing to monitor at their homes and comply with quarantine requirements.
The final eight people left quarantine this week, the AP said.
More than 100 CDC employees were part of the hantavirus response at its height, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Throughout the outbreak and subsequent monitoring, the government said the risk to the population was low as hantavirus typically does not spread among humans. The strain at the center of the outbreak was the Andes version that spreads in Chile and Argentina, and is the exception. It causes a severe and often fatal lung disease, the newspaper said.
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