When staff at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory heard that Americans from a cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak were coming to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, they started trying to figure out how to test them for the virus.Â
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Emily McCutchen, deputy director, closes the cover on an extractor at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory during work on tests during the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
Photos: Plane carrying passengers of the cruise ship MV Hondius arrives in Omaha
Medical personnel escort U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, to awaiting shuttles at Eppley Airfield, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Kalitta Air 492 carrying U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, lands at Eppley Airfield, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Medical personnel escort U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, to awaiting shuttles at Eppley Airfield, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Medical personnel escort U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, to awaiting shuttles at Eppley Airfield, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Medical personnel escort U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, to awaiting shuttles at Eppley Airfield, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
An ambulance and shuttle buses transport U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Davis Global Center on Monday.
U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, arrive at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, arrive at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
U.S. passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by a hantavirus outbreak, arrive at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026.
Gov. Jim Pillen speaks during an update about the arrival of American cruise ship passengers to Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026. Sixteen Americans from the cruise ship associated with a hantavirus outbreak will be monitored and assessed at the biocontainment unit in Omaha.
Gov. Jim Pillen speaks during an update about the arrival of American cruise ship passengers to Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026. Sixteen Americans from the cruise ship associated with a hantavirus outbreak will be monitored and assessed at the biocontainment unit in Omaha.
Adm. Brian Christine, Assistant Secretary fro Health - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, speaks during an update about the arrival of American cruise ship passengers to Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026. Sixteen Americans from the cruise ship associated with a hantavirus outbreak will be monitored and assessed at the biocontainment unit in Omaha.
John Knox, principal deputy assistant secretary at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, speaks during an update about the arrival of American cruise ship passengers to Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026. Sixteen Americans from the cruise ship associated with a hantavirus outbreak will be monitored and assessed at the biocontainment unit in Omaha.
Dr. Brendan Jackson, CDC acting director for the division of high-consequence pathogens and pathology, speaks during an update about the arrival of American cruise ship passengers to Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026. Sixteen Americans from the cruise ship associated with a hantavirus outbreak will be monitored and assessed at the biocontainment unit in Omaha.
State and federal officials join University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine doctors during an update about the arrival of American cruise ship passengers to Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center Davis Global Center, in Omaha on Monday, May 11, 2026. Sixteen Americans from the cruise ship associated with a hantavirus outbreak will be monitored and assessed at the biocontainment unit in Omaha.
