The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has decided to officially end its emergency response following the hantavirus outbreak linked to an Atlantic cruise ship, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on June 24 (local time).

"Protecting the American public is our top priority," said Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the CDC, in a statement. "The CDC’s hantavirus response officially concludes on June 24, 2026."

This comes approximately two months after the agency launched an emergency response following hantavirus infection cases on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship, the MV Hondius.

The MV Hondius, which departed from Argentina on April 1, experienced a cluster of hantavirus infections while sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.

While the ship was in the territorial waters of Cape Verde off West Africa, it docked at the Canary Islands in Spain to disembark its passengers.

Following this, authorities in various countries, including the U.S. CDC, implemented measures such as hospital quarantines to prevent the spread of local infections after passengers returned to their home countries.

The incubation period for hantavirus is estimated to be up to six weeks.

The CDC activated its emergency operations center early last month to manage the situation, with more than 100 CDC staff members deployed to the hantavirus response at one point.

Over a dozen American passengers who had been on the MV Hondius were quarantined at a facility in Nebraska. Controversy arose when some of them were allowed to leave the facility before the six-week period ended, on the condition that state authorities in their home regions would monitor their status.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of June 10, the cumulative number of confirmed hantavirus cases linked to the cruise ship outbreak stood at 13, with three deaths reported.

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