WASHINGTON — The top U.S. official responsible for public health on cruise ships is stepping down, according to an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement obtained by STAT.
The retirement of Luis Rodríguez, who has been part of the Vessel Sanitation Program since 2010 and served as its chief since 2023, was announced internally at the CDC on Wednesday.
His departure comes amid a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that has experts worried and that has captured the public’s attention.
It also comes after a turbulent year for the division — and the federal government’s public health work broadly. In April 2025, the full-time employees in the program were laid off, according to reporting at the time. Administration officials argued the program, largely staffed by people not subject to the widespread Department of Health and Human Services layoffs, would remain functional.
The administration later reversed the cuts to the cruise ship program, an HHS official confirmed Thursday. They did not respond to questions about who will replace Rodríguez.
The CDC on Wednesday said in a statement it was “closely monitoring the situation,” noting the State Department was coordinating a whole-of-government response for the U.S. passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. The public health risk to Americans is currently “extremely low,” according to the statement.
HHS officials previously declined a request from STAT to interview a CDC expert about the outbreak. The State Department declined to answer questions about the number of Americans onboard the ship or any plan to monitor those potentially exposed to the virus.
The cruise ship operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, has said there are 17 Americans currently onboard the Hondius. Some American passengers disembarked when the cruise ship stopped at St. Helena, before it was recognized that an outbreak was underway.
Helen Branswell contributed reporting.