Hantavirus Update: American tests positive as passengers return to US
WASHINGTON - Seventeen Americans evacuated from a Dutch ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak in the Atlantic have arrived in Nebraska.
What we know:
The University of Nebraska operates a federally funded quarantine facility. FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez reports that one of the 17 Americans tested positive for hantavirus but is not showing symptoms, according to medical professionals.
Passengers from the MV Hondius began flying home Sunday aboard military and government planes after the ship anchored in the Canary Islands.
Before this latest group returned, one Virginia resident affected by the outbreak arrived home last week. That person is said to be in good health and is being monitored.
Hantavirus Update: American tests positive, passengers return to US
Seventeen Americans evacuated from a Dutch ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak in the Atlantic have arrived in Nebraska.
READ MORE: Virginia traveler from hantavirus stricken cruise ship returns home, officials say
Health officials say this is the first ever outbreak of the hantavirus on a cruise ship. Three passengers have died, but authorities continue to stress that the risk to the broader public remains low.
Hantavirus typically spreads through rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people, though the Andes virus detected in this outbreak may spread between people in rare cases.
2 passengers test positive for hantavirus | FOX 5 AT 6AM
A French woman and an American tested positive for the hantavirus, as nations around the world scrambled Monday to repatriate passengers from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak and quarantine or isolate them.
Symptoms, including fever, chills and muscle aches, can appear one to eight weeks after exposure.
Medical experts continue to emphasize that this is not a repeat of COVID and say the risk of public spread is minimal.
Federal, state and University of Nebraska medical experts are planning a news conference to give updates on the passengers.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.