The 18 Americans, who returned to the U.S. early Monday following a deadly outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, are quarantined and in “good shape,” public health officials have said.
One of the 18 Americans has tested positive for the rodent-borne virus, which originated on the MV Hondius ocean expedition vessel last month. Three passengers have died in the outbreak, seven others have been infected and two further cases are suspected as of Monday.
More than 140 passengers and crew disembarked in the Spain’s Canary Islands Sunday, where the Americans were met by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection and boarded chartered aircraft to the U.S.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that 16 passengers are in isolation in a specialist quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, including the positive patient. They do not have symptoms and are under observation. Two others are being monitored at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, due to lack of space in Nebraska, officials said. One of these individuals has received both a positive and negative test for hantavirus but is showing no symptoms.
“The 15 who were welcome here were in good shape, they were in good spirits," Dr. Michael Wadman, Medical Director of the Nebraska’s national quarantine unit, said of passengers who have tested negative. “They definitely were tired and needed some rest, so we did a quick assessment, brought them into the unit, a very smooth, successful, safe transfer.”
Seven cases of hantavirus have been confirmed in MV Hondius passengers, the World Health Organization said, including a French national and American announced Monday. The French passenger was being treated in France and her condition is deteriorating, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Monday.
The Nebraska site is the U.S.'s only national quarantine unit. “There is a strong plan in place to ensure the folks are secure,” Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen told reporters Monday.
Officials expect more MV Hondius passengers to develop symptoms in the coming days.
The infected are believed to have the Andes strain of hantavirus which takes up to 42 days to incubate. The Andes virus is also the only strain capable of spreading between humans, according to WHO.
The passengers in Nebraska, including a dual-U.S. and British citizen, will be given the option to stay in quarantine for 42 days at the facility after spending at least several days there, officials said.
If they wish to quarantine for the entire 42 days at home, local medical care and potential exposures will need to be taken into account. “Safety is number one across the board here,” Ashley Neumeyer, Director of Public Health for Nebraska, said.
Several dozen passengers from the MV Hondius had returned home before the outbreak on board and public health officials have been in contact with them. In the U.S., individuals are being monitored in California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Virginia and New Jersey. They have also been given instructions for at-home quarantine, should it become necessary.
HHS defended its response to the hantavirus outbreak Monday following criticism by public health officials that the CDC, which is under the agency's umbrella, was “not even a player.”
“This response reflects the strength of the national preparedness system,” John Knox, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said.
Hantavirus is normally linked to exposure to the urine or feces of infected rodents. Officials believe people were first exposed to Andes virus while off the ship, which left Argentina for Cape Verde in mid-March.
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