Americans who shared a cruise ship with a hantavirus patient could be in for what's being likened to a highly-monitored hotel stay. A government-chartered flight brought 17 Americans and one British passenger of MV Hondius to the US early Monday, before they were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, home to the country's only federally funded National Quarantine Unit. There, they will be sorted into risk categories based on whether they had contact with individuals showing symptoms of hantavirus, the BBC reports.
One American has tested positive for the virus and another has begun showing symptoms, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which notes both are held in "biocontainment units," per CBS News. A French citizen also tested positive after a repatriation flight and is in serious condition, per the Guardian. There are now seven confirmed cases linked to MV Hondius, with two others suspected, the World Health Organization said Monday, per the BBC. Seven other US passengers from the ship are already back in states including Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, and California, and are being watched for signs of illness.
The new arrivals will be asked to self-isolate for 42 days, whether they stay in Nebraska or return home by carefully arranged transport. Local health departments will monitor anyone who leaves Omaha. Those who stay in Nebraska's 20-bed quarantine unit will get daily symptom checks and meals delivered to their rooms, which use negative air pressure to contain pathogens. If anyone else falls sick, they'll be moved to the adjacent biocontainment unit for high-risk infectious diseases. Officials maintain the risk of a major outbreak is very low.
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