Traveler describes quarantine ordeal aboard cruise ship hantavirus outbreak

Jake Rosmarin spent 42 days under quarantine and monitoring after an Andes hantavirus outbreak swept through the MV Hondius, the Dutch-flagged cruise ship that was carrying passengers and crew from 23 countries. Rosmarin, a Boston-based travel influencer, was one of 18 U.S. residents exposed aboard the vessel as it moved through the South Atlantic route from Ushuaia, Argentina, toward Cape Verde, with a stop near Tristan da Cunha before the voyage turned into a public-health emergency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on June 21 that all U.S. citizens potentially exposed on the ship had completed the 42-day monitoring period and that no cases of hantavirus disease occurred in the United States as a result of the outbreak. The agency said the risk to the American public and travelers was extremely low, though the outbreak remained under review. The World Health Organization said its fourth outbreak update, released May 28, followed notification on May 2 of severe respiratory illness cases aboard the ship and identified the illness as Andes hantavirus. That update also said three additional confirmed cases had been reported from Canada, the Netherlands and Spain.

Health authorities in Europe described the vessel as a Dutch-flagged cruise ship with passengers and crew from 23 countries, including nine EU and EEA countries. The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s National Quarantine Unit in Omaha monitored exposed U.S. passengers after they returned from the ship. Health updates and media reports described three deaths tied to the outbreak.

Rosmarin documented the trip before the illness crisis overtook it, posting from the crossing that had been planned as a long South Atlantic voyage. As the quarantine period unfolded, he shared updates with followers about the uncertainty and emotional strain of isolation while trying to stay positive and plan for home.

The episode showed how quickly a health system at sea can stretch across continents, from a cruise line’s passenger manifest to international disease surveillance and specialized quarantine care in the United States. For the Americans exposed aboard the MV Hondius, the final milestone was not disembarkation in port but the quiet end of a 42-day watch in Omaha.