Two patients exposed to hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning and were transported under heavy medical and law enforcement escort to Emory University Hospital, where they are now being treated and monitored at one of the country’s premier biocontainment facilities. The transfer marks the beginning of the domestic phase of the federal response to an international outbreak that has already killed three people and prompted coordinated repatriation efforts across multiple countries.
The Kalitta Air flight carrying the two American passengers, identified by officials as a couple, landed at Hartsfield-Jackson around 9:30 a.m. The pair were then placed into Grady Health ambulances and transported to Emory University Hospital under law enforcement escort. Emory officials said the operation went as planned, and the hospital had been preparing for the arrival for several days.
What Emory Is Treating
Emory University Hospital’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit is among the most advanced biocontainment facilities in the United States and is part of the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center network within the federally supported National Special Pathogen System. The unit is designed to safely manage high-consequence infectious diseases including hantavirus, Ebola, and similar pathogens.
In a statement, Emory officials said one symptomatic individual is receiving care in the hospital’s biocontainment unit, while the second individual, identified as an asymptomatic close contact, is undergoing evaluation and monitoring. Dr. Aneesh Mehta, chief of infectious disease services at Emory University Hospital, told reporters at a Monday evening press conference that the hospital team had been preparing for years for outbreaks of viruses like the Andes virus strain linked to this case.
“We have been preparing for years for viruses such as Andes viruses,” Mehta said.
Inside the Federal Repatriation Effort
The two patients in Atlanta are part of a larger group of 18 Americans evacuated from the MV Hondius after a deadly hantavirus outbreak forced the ship to port in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. The remaining 16 American passengers were transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha for evaluation. UNMC was selected as the primary US entry point because it operates the country’s only national quarantine unit and has extensive expertise in handling special pathogens, according to John Knox, the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Atlanta was chosen as the secondary destination specifically because one of the two patients in the Emory group is symptomatic, requiring the level of specialized infectious disease care that Emory’s biocontainment unit can deliver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coordinated the transfer with state health officials in Georgia.
Georgia Officials: “No Risk to the Public”
Governor Brian Kemp’s office released a statement Monday emphasizing that the situation poses no danger to Georgia residents.
“The Governor has been briefed by both federal and state partners. I would refer you to the Department of Public Health for more information and would stress that every precaution is being taken for the transport and treatment of each individual. There is no risk to the public at this time,” the office stated.
At a signing ceremony at the Georgia Capitol earlier in the day, Kemp told reporters the state is following processes similar to those used during the COVID-19 pandemic when patients were removed from cruise ships for evaluation. “We’re as prepared as any state in the country to do this, and it is just the right thing to do,” Kemp said.
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed that two additional Georgia residents who had previously returned home from the cruise are being monitored and remain asymptomatic. DPH said federal healthcare workers are taking every precaution needed and that the agency remains in active communication with the CDC and other partners.
About the Outbreak
The MV Hondius outbreak has been traced to the Andes variant of hantavirus, a rare strain that, unlike most hantaviruses, can spread between people in limited circumstances. Hantavirus is typically transmitted through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings, and symptoms generally appear between one and eight weeks after exposure.
So far, three people have died in the outbreak, including a married couple and a German national. The World Health Organization has confirmed eight cases linked to the ship. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said over the weekend that based on the available scientific assessment, the public risk remains low and urged the public not to panic.
The ship itself, with 27 crew members still aboard, is now sailing toward Rotterdam in the Netherlands and is scheduled to arrive May 17. Atlanta and Omaha medical officials say they will continue monitoring patients in the coming days and weeks.
