Passenger from hantavirus-infected cruise shares update as 42-day quarantine finally comes to an end

An American man who was aboard the hantavirus-infected cruise ship has issued an update after his 42-day quarantine has finally come to an end.

The MV Hondius cruise had been bound for Antarctica, when the outbreak happened, resulting in the death of three people.

Jake Rosmarin was on board the cruise ship back in early May, and was potentially exposed to the deadly rodent-borne disease.

As a result, he was held for six weeks at a facility in Nebraska and admitted he was ‘afraid’ to leave his room.

"I have been traumatised by this whole experience,” he told ABC earlier this month.

“I'm afraid to leave this room until I know that the chance of me getting sick is 0 percent.

"I want to know when I leave that the chances of me risking other people, my family, friends, the general public, I want to know that my risk isn't minimal. I want that also to be 0 percent.”

With a lot of spare time on his hands, Rosmarin posted daily updates to his Instagram and became an unlikely social media star in the process, racking up more than 160,000 followers.

At the weekend, Rosmarin was able to share the update he’d been waiting for, confirming that his 42-day quarantine was now complete and he could finally head home.

In a clip, he said: “A big thanks to all of you who have helped me get through this, because I really don't know if it would have been as easy without, you know, the support from strangers. I mean, I never expected to see so much kindness from humanity, so thank you so much.

“I did want to take this time to thank my family and friends for helping me get through this, to the amazing staff here at the NQU and UNMC for treating us with kindness and truly going above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable here.

“I want to thank the Omaha and Nebraska community for welcoming us with open arms and showing us complete kindness and generosity.”

Sharing the clip, he wrote: “Whether you’ve been following since day one or just recently found my story, thank you for being here. Thank you for the messages, comments, letters, prayers, and support. So many of you were complete strangers, yet you showed up for me during one of the toughest periods of my life.”

In a follow-up post, Rosmarin shared a heartwarming clip of him hugging his loved ones after finally being reunited.

While we’re sure Rosmarin is delighted to be back amongst civilisation some of his followers admitted that they’d miss his daily updates.

A timeline of the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius

1 April - The MV Hondius cruise ship departs Ushuaia, Argentina, going on to visit Antarctica, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Helena, and Ascension Island. Around 150 people are on board, of 23 different nationalities.

6 April - A 69-year-old Dutch man complains of a fever, headache, and mild diarrhoea while onboard.

11 April - The man’s condition deteriorates. He dies following respiratory distress.

12 April - The captain of the MV Hondius breaks the news of the man’s death to passengers. According to one of the passengers, the captain says the man died of natural causes and there is no contagion. Life continues as normal on board the ship.

24 April - The man’s wife, also 69 and from the Netherlands, goes ashore in St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms. On the same day, a British man presents to the ship’s doctor with shortness of breath and signs of pneumonia.

25 April - The Dutch woman boards an Airlink flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Contact tracing efforts follow in the coming days to track down the 82 passengers and six crew members onboard the flight.

26 April - The 69-year-old Dutch woman dies after arriving at the emergency department in Johannesburg, South Africa. Meanwhile, the British man’s condition deteriorates.

27 April - The British man is medically evacuated from Ascension Island to South Africa. He remains in intensive care in Johannesburg. The MV Hondius initiates its SHIELD response health and safety plan.

28 April - A German passenger develops a fever.

2 May - The German passenger dies following pneumonia symptoms. Laboratory testing confirms the British man has hantavirus. The World Health Organisation is notified by the UK.

4 May - The Dutch woman is also confirmed to have had hantavirus. The ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, confirms that there are two crew members, one British and one Dutch, with acute respiratory symptoms who require urgent medical attention.

6 May - Swiss authorities confirm a case of hantavirus from a passenger of the MV Hondius who heard of the outbreak and presented himself at a hospital in Zurich. The two crew members, along with a close contact of the German passenger who died on 2 May, are medically evacuated from MV Hondius. Of these three passengers, two are now in stable condition in hospital, and one is asymptomatic in Germany. The MV Hondius heads North for the Canary Islands. Oceanwide Expeditions says no symptomatic individuals remain on the ship

8 May - The UK confirms a third British national has suspected hantavirus on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha.

10 May - The MV Hondius is scheduled to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife