President Donald Trump has addressed the hantavirus outbreak connected to a cruise ship off the coast of West Africa. He recently told reporters the situation is “very much, we hope, under control.” The rare virus has been linked to three deaths on board the MV Hondius.
Donald Trump comments on Hantavirus outbreak
Speaking to the press during a visit to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Donald Trump said a full report on the outbreak would be released the following day. “There was the ship and I think we’re going to make a full report about it tomorrow,” he said. “We have a lot of people, it’s a lot of great people are studying it. It should be fine. We hope.”
President Trump on Hantavirus: "It's very much, we hope, under control…It should be fine. We hope."
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 8, 2026
Q: "Should Americans be concerned that it’s going to spread?
Trump: "I hope not." pic.twitter.com/qCMOg81CdD
The president did not name the agency responsible for the report, nor did he outline specific measures to assist the 17 Americans who remain on board the vessel off the coast of Cape Verde. When asked whether the American public should be worried, Trump responded, “I mean, I hope not.” He added, “We’ll do the best we can.”
The hantavirus outbreak is being monitored by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and health authorities in Europe. All three bodies have classified the risk to the general public as low (via PEOPLE).
Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the MV Hondius, confirmed that six Americans left the ship on 24 April in St. Helena. No passengers or crew currently on board are showing symptoms, according to WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “None of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship are currently symptomatic,” he said at a briefing on Thursday. Of the eight possible cases identified on the vessel, five have been confirmed as hantavirus. The remaining three are classified as “suspected.”
Health officials in Arizona, California, Georgia, and Virginia are tracking residents who returned home after disembarking the ship. None has developed symptoms to date.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
