‘Empty and vapid’ CDC finally responds to hantavirus outbreak. But experts say it’s too little, too late

Passengers on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, Cape Verde, on 6 May 2026. Photograph: AP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed it is sending a team to Spain’s Canary Islands, where the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is expected to arrive on Sunday, and US passengers will be evacuated to an airbase in Nebraska. However, experts say the US is unprepared for such a disease threat.

The CDC’s limited role in responding to the hantavirus outbreak is raising questions, including whether it now has a diminished role in responding to health scares. Most of the response has been led by the World Health Organization (WHO), of which the US is no longer a member.