Luis Rodríguez retires as CDC cruise ship program chief
Updated
Updated · STAT · May 7
Luis Rodríguez retires as CDC cruise ship program chief
5 articles · Updated · STAT · May 7
The internal announcement came Wednesday as the CDC monitored a hantavirus outbreak on Oceanwide Expeditions' MV Hondius, carrying 17 Americans, with some having disembarked at St Helena.
The CDC said the public health risk to Americans was "extremely low" and the State Department was coordinating the US response, but officials gave no replacement for Rodríguez.
His exit follows a turbulent year for the Vessel Sanitation Program, whose full-time staff were laid off in April 2025 before the administration later reversed the cuts.
As a fatal virus spreads at sea, is the CDC's cruise ship safety program on the verge of collapse?
Why do high cruise ship sanitation scores fail to prevent viral outbreaks like the deadly hantavirus incident?