Hantavirus outbreak: American oncologist who became cruise ship’s de facto head doctor speaks to ABC News
Dr. Stephen Bend discusses helping fellow passengers.
By Maggie Rulli and Dragana Jovanovic
May 9, 2026, 4:21 PM
After the doctor on the cruise ship MV Hondius contracted the hantavirus, an American doctor onboard jumped into action to help passengers navigate the outbreak.
Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an oncologist from Bend, Oregon, told ABC News that he quickly realized he was leading the response to a full-blown medical crisis on board the cruise ship.
The ship's unidentified doctor was among the six people onboard who tested positive for the virus. One passenger, who had a probable case, died onboard.
"It just kind of escalated to within 24 hours after I stepped in," Kornfeld said. "One of the patients died and the other two, the physician and one of the other staff members, were getting progressively sicker, and then the first news of hantavirus came out."
The ship's doctor and a ship's guide who tested positive are under isolation in the Netherlands. A British man who tested positive is hospitalized in South Africa while a Swiss man is hospitalized in Switzerland.
A Dutch woman who tested positive died on April 26 in South Africa while a German woman who tested positive died on May 2.
None of the 17 Americans onboard the boat have tested positive for the virus as of Saturday afternoon. The boat is slated to arrive at the Canary Islands Sunday morning where the passengers will disembark and be flown back to their home countries.
Kornfeld, who went bird watching while on the cruise, told ABC News that the whole ship came together to get through the crisis.
"There were a lot of people kind of helping and working, and it really felt like a team." he said. "These people have started to become my family."
The doctor said that while he is feeling "a little vulnerable" he is in good health.
"Days have gone by and nobody's having symptoms, and I know very soon I will be I'll have access to very, very good medical care. That's a sense of relief," he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said the Americans will be flown out to Nebraska where they will be evaluated, but there will be no mandatory quarantine.
The National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, is prepared to treat and observe those patients.
Regarding the visit to the unit, Kornfeld said: "Well, I've never been bird watching in Nebraska."
