Global health authorities are working to contain an outbreak of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The total number of confirmed cases associated with the outbreak is increasing, health officials said. To date, three people who were aboard the ship are known to have died of the virus.
More than 100 passengers remain on the ship, including 17 Americans, and the World Health Organization is monitoring their health. Officials said that the "overall public health risk remains low" but that there may be some person-to-person spread.
Health officials in multiple states say they're monitoring some passengers who have returned to the U.S. after being aboard the ship for potential hantavirus infections.
A CDC official said Saturday the federal government doesn't plan to have the repatriated American cruise ship passengers quarantine upon arrival in Nebraska."We are not quarantining anybody,” a CDC official told reporters on a call Saturday.
As of Saturday none of the 17 Americans aboard the cruise have tested positive for the hantavirus, according to CDC officials.When asked if passengers will be tested, a CDC official said, "it is not recommended to test people that do not have symptoms."Federal officials walked through their plan for the passengers.Each passenger is set to be evaluated upon arrival in the U.S., and they may opt to go home and watch for any potential symptoms for 42 days while staying in touch with their state or local health departments, the officials said.Officials may recommend that passengers doing home-based monitoring limit their activities outside the house to those that don't involve extensive interactions with other people.
Whilethe National Quarantine Unit in Nebraskawill be available to them, there are no plans to mandate quarantine, according to officials. The officials said they hope the passengers will be in Nebraska for a limited amount of time.-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
Spanish authorities are preparing the port area in Tenerife to receive passengers with repatriation flights scheduled for the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands, according to Reuters.
"To assist those European Union countries that do not have air transport resources available, the European Civil Protection Mechanism has made two aircraft available, and the necessary flights for the transfer will be scheduled throughout the course of today, Saturday," Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said at a press conference Saturday, according to Reuters."Disembarkation will be carried out in groups based on nationality, as the minister has stated. Only when the aircraft bound for a specific country is on the runway, ready to fly to that country, will nationals of that country be disembarked and taken there, using transport provided by the Spanish army," Grande-Marlaska said.
The vessel is expected to arrive in Tenerife and be anchored between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. local time Sunday, according to the health ministry in Madrid.
Fourteen Spanish passengers will be the first to be transferred to the Port of Granadilla.-ABC News' Aicha Elhammar
An official from the Canarias Region government said that all passengers on the M/V Hondius will began to evacuate within the next 24 hours.
The officials said that the government's plan is to not allow any of the passengers to put members of the population into any type of risk.If passenger is not ready to be transferred directly to airplane of their destination, then they will not be able to leave the vessel, the officials said.Leaving by nationality, passengers will be transferred to the port wearing full protective equipment to avoid any contact with Canarias territory and they will be escorted by a few buses via TF1 route to the airport, which will take approximately 15 minutes to reach the airport.-ABC News' Aicha El Hammar Castano
The CDC is alerting doctors and health departments around the country to be aware of the potential for imported hantavirus cases from the cruise ship outbreak.The agency notes that the risk of broad spread to the United States is considered extremely unlikely at this time.
There have been no confirmed hantavirus cases associated with the cruise ship in the U.S. and at least nine residents are being monitored across six states, but none have shown any signs of illness at this time.The CDC’s advisory to doctors, via the Health Alert Network (HAN) system, reminds them that in the event of a potential hantavirus case, patients should be placed in an isolated room and health care providers should use a gown, gloves, eye protection and an N95 mask or higher level respirator.Doctors should also consider hantavirus infections as a potential diagnosis if a patient presents with hantavirus symptoms as well as known contact with an infected individual, officials said.-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
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The California Health Department says they are monitoring one former passenger of the cruise ship M/V Hondius for potential hantavirus infection."Local health officials are in contact with the one returned passenger," the department said in a news release. "At this time, public health protocol includes daily temperature checks and assessment for any symptoms consistent with hantavirus, and direction to modify activities."The department said it was notified by federal officials that a second California resident is still on board the cruise ship.There are at least nine U.S. residents under monitoring across six statesNo U.S. residents under monitoring have shown any signs of illness at this time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it deployed a team earlier Friday to the Canary Islands, where the M/V Hondius is expected to dock in the coming days."The team will conduct an exposure risk assessment for each American passenger and provide recommendations for the level of monitoring required," the CDC said in a statement.The American passengers will be evacuated on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Nebraska and transported to aquarantine centerat the University of Nebraska in Omaha, the CDC said.Another CDC team will deploy to Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska, to "support public health assessment of returning passengers," the agency said.
Oceanwide Expeditions provided an update about the 87 guests and 60 crew member aboard the M/V Hondius Friday and said the situation on board "remains calm," as it heads to the Canary Islands.
The boat is scheduled to arrive early Sunday, but that timetable is subject to change, according to Oceanwide.
"Preparations regarding our point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and the onward travel plans for all guests and affected crew are being led by organizations from a number of countries, including the WHO, RIVM, and Dutch authorities, in close cooperation with Spanish government authorities," Oceanwide said in a statement.
The cruise company provided a breakdown of the ship's passengers and crew and revealed there are 17 Americans aboard the ship.-ABC News' Claire Bower
Several American passengers from the cruise ship associated with a suspected hantavirus cluster are set to arrive at a quarantine unit in Nebraska over the next few days. Here's what to know about the facility.The National Quarantine Unit, managed by Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S.Its 20 single-occupancy rooms with en-suite bathrooms contain individual negative air pressure systems to safely house individuals exposed to highly hazardous communicable diseases,according to Nebraska Medicine and UNMC.The rooms also contain exercise equipment and WiFi connectivity for patients requiring longer stays.Nebraska Medicine and UNMC also manage the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU), which provides medical care to patients with highly hazardous communicable diseases.“Unit personnel consists of a voluntary staff of select physicians, nursing, nursing assistants and respiratory therapists specially trained in high-level isolation and bio preparedness,” Nebraska Medicine and UNMC said on itswebsite.The NBU was activated in 2014 to care for U.S. citizens affected by the Ebola outbreak and medically evacuated from Africa and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to care for U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess Cruise ship.
The University of Nebraska, which hosts the quarantine facility the American cruise ship passengers are set to travel to, said Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are coordinating with partners to receive the U.S. citizens.
The university said the National Quarantine Unit is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S.
"We are prepared for situations exactly like this," Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, said in a statement. "Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to make sure we can safely provide care while protecting our staff and the broader community. We are proud to support this national effort."
Nebraska Medical Center also houses the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, a highly specialized facility meant to care for patients with "high-consequence infectious diseases," the university said.
Nebraska Medicine and UNMC treated patients during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and cared for some of the first Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020.
"We understand situations like this can raise questions," Ash said. "People should know these facilities were specifically designed to prevent exposure to the public. There is no risk to the community from people being cared for in these units."
In a statement released earlier on Thursday, the University of Nebraska said both units "are staffed and ready, if needed, to safely provide care while protecting our staff and the community."
-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
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