American passenger on virus-hit ship tests positive for hantavirus

US Officials Confirm Quarantine for American Passengers Affected by Hantavirus Outbreak

Eighteen Americans have been quarantined and monitored for symptoms following their return from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) has maintained that the risk to the public remains low.

Two evacuation planes carrying 28 passengers and crew members from the MV Hondius, which was docked in the Canary Islands, landed in the Netherlands on Monday. Among them were six American passengers who will stay in a quarantine facility near Eindhoven airbase before being repatriated. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed that one of the infected Americans tested positive for the respiratory viral infection at a biochemical unit in Nebraska.

The infected individual is being monitored along with 15 others at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, while two others are at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The WHO has reported seven confirmed cases of the virus and two suspected cases, including one who died before testing. French authorities have also confirmed a positive test result for a passenger.

The MV Hondius set off from southern Argentina on April 1 and docked in the Canary Islands nine days after the first positive test result for the respiratory viral infection. Three people have since died due to the outbreak. The ship is now en route to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where it will undergo disinfection.

Source: Al Jazeera