Hantavirus Was Already in the U.S. Before the M/V Hondius Passengers Arrived: It Killed Gene Hackman's Wife

The 17 Americans aboard the hantavirus-hit M/V Hondius have arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, after being evacuated from Tenerife on a U.S. medical repatriation flight. They were taken to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for evaluation and monitoring.

One of them tested positive but was asymptomatic, while another had mild symptoms. Health officials are assessing each passenger's exposure risk before deciding whether they remain in Nebraska or continue monitoring at home. The news has caused alarm around the world, and in the country, although the virus was present in the U.S. way before, as it actually was what t killed Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, more than a year before passengers from the vessel began testing positive across Europe and the United States.

Arakawa, 65, died in February 2025 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome at the Santa Fe, New Mexico, home she shared with Hackman, according to local authorities. Her death drew national attention after investigators determined she died days before Hackman, who died from heart disease and complications related to Alzheimer's disease. However, it was a different strain from the one found at the M/V Hondius.

The World Health Organization has linked at least six confirmed infections and three deaths to the cruise ship outbreak. The vessel departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 and later anchored in the Canary Islands after passengers began falling ill. WHO officials identified the strain involved as Andes virus, a hantavirus variant found in South America that can spread between humans in rare circumstances.That differs from the strain linked to Arakawa's death in New Mexico, as USA Today points out.

Health investigators found evidence of rodent activity around detached buildings on the Hackman property, including droppings, nests, and signs of rodent entry.

Authorities said at the time that hantavirus cases in the United States are generally linked to exposure to infected rodent urine, saliva or droppings rather than person-to-person transmission. "Hantavirus does not spread among people in the cases found in the United States," the Times reported, citing health officials.

The cruise ship outbreak has prompted quarantine measures and international monitoring efforts involving passengers from more than 20 countries. A French passenger and an American passenger evacuated to Nebraska tested positive on Monday, according to PBS. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sought to reassure the public over the weekend, saying: "This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low."

Investigators believe the first infected MV Hondius passengers may have contracted the virus during wildlife excursions in Argentina before boarding the ship, though WHO officials are still examining whether limited human-to-human transmission occurred aboard the vessel among passengers sharing cabins or traveling in close quarters.