Officials say the passengers currently have no symptoms and will be monitored at the nation’s only federally funded quarantine unit.
NEBRASKA, USA — All 17 Americans evacuated from a cruise ship tied to a deadly hantavirus outbreak will be quarantined and monitored in Nebraska, federal and state officials said.
The Americans were aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which has been linked to an outbreak of the rare Andes strain of hantavirus. Three people connected to the outbreak have died, and several passengers who left the ship have tested positive for the virus.
Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center said the U.S. citizens will be monitored at the National Quarantine Unit on the Omaha campus. Officials said the individuals currently have no symptoms.
The World Health Organization has said the overall public health risk remains low, but the Andes strain is notable because it can spread person-to-person in rare cases involving close contact.
The cruise ship, carrying more than 140 passengers and crew, is expected to dock in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Why Nebraska?
Nebraska is home to the country’s only federally funded quarantine unit specifically designed to monitor people exposed to high-consequence infectious diseases.
The National Quarantine Unit includes 20 negative-pressure rooms intended to safely isolate patients while preventing any exposure to the public. Officials said the facility’s staff regularly train for outbreaks and infectious disease emergencies.
Nebraska Medicine also operates the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, a specialized treatment center for patients who become seriously ill.
The Omaha-based facility gained national attention in 2014 after treating Americans infected with Ebola. It was later used in 2020 to quarantine evacuees from Wuhan, China, and passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are prepared for situations exactly like this,” Nebraska Medicine CEO Dr. Michael Ash 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.”
Officials stressed there is no risk to the public from the quarantine operation.
Hantavirus is most commonly spread through contact with infected rodent droppings. Transmission between humans are rare, though possible, through the Andes variant.
“We understand situations like this can raise questions,” Dr. 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.”
Symptoms can appear between one and eight weeks after exposure and may include fever, muscle aches and breathing problems. Severe cases can become life-threatening.