Florida pushes back on CDC quarantine orders for cruise ship hantavirus exposure

Florida health officials are challenging CDC quarantine orders tied to an Andes hantavirus exposure on the M/V Hondius, turning a cruise ship outbreak into a fight over public-health authority. The federal agency says the risk to the American public and travelers remains extremely low, but it is still monitoring exposed passengers because the virus can take up to six weeks to incubate.

The outbreak was first reported on May 2 aboard the Netherlands-flagged ship in the Atlantic Ocean, after severe acute respiratory illness appeared among passengers and crew. By June 11, the CDC said 18 potentially exposed U.S. passengers had been repatriated to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for a 42-day monitoring period, with eight still there and 10 already home to finish monitoring. The agency said some passengers who left the ship before the outbreak was identified completed monitoring through June 6 with no cases detected, and no Andes virus cases have been confirmed in the United States from the episode.

The most contentious part of the response involves two repatriated passengers. On May 18, the CDC said it had issued quarantine orders for those travelers and that the orders were signed by the agency’s Acting Director under the Public Health Service Act and federal regulations in 42 CFR parts 70 and 71. Florida health officials have argued that the tighter supervision is not necessary, while the CDC says quarantine can be used at federal, state and county levels when needed to protect communities.

The dispute comes as international health authorities continue to track the case count across several countries. The World Health Organization said that by May 27 there were 13 cases worldwide, including 11 confirmed and two probable, with three deaths, and that one earlier inconclusive U.S. case was later ruled negative and removed from the count. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on June 11 that the ship carried passengers and crew from 23 countries, including nine EU and EEA countries, and that the total remained 13 cases, including 12 confirmed and one probable, with three deaths.

Andes hantavirus carries special concern because it is the only known hantavirus that can spread between humans, and it can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe and potentially deadly lung disease. CDC says it continues to provide technical assistance and guidance to other health authorities as its port health stations respond to sick travelers around the clock, 365 days a year.