The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Sunday that one passenger currently has “mild symptoms” and another tested “mildly positive Andes virus PCR.”
WASHINGTON – Two of 17 U.S. citizens on board Hantavirus hits cruise ship The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday that the people were being shipped back to the United States in biocontainment units “out of an abundance of caution.”
“One passenger is currently experiencing mild symptoms and another passenger has a mildly positive Andes virus PCR test,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement. Statement posted to X.
All 17 passengers will fly to the University of Nebraska, which has Federally funded quarantine facilitiesto assess whether they have been in close contact with anyone with symptoms and their level of risk of spreading the virus.
It’s unclear when the Americans arrived in Nebraska.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that passengers will have the option to stay in Nebraska or go home, and their conditions will be monitored by state and local health agencies.
CDC official says: ‘We are not quarantining anyone’ told reporters on Saturday.
He noted that the seven Americans who left the cruise ship had been in the United States for about two weeks and lived across the country. In response they have gone home, CDC says it has started Conduct state-level monitoring of these individuals and those potentially exposed.
The United States is no longer a member of the World Health Organization, which provides guidance to only the 20 countries from which passengers come.
“We’ll leave it to countries to actually set their own policies,” U.S. epidemiologist Maria DeJoseph Van Kerkhove told The Associated Press. “But our recommendations are very clear, it’s really a prudent approach to make sure that we don’t have any opportunity for this virus to spread from other people.”
Three people have died since the outbreak began.
Health officials say risk to public is low
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that the public should not worry about the outbreak.
“We’ve had the same answer repeated many times,” he said. “This is not another coronavirus. The risk to the public is low. So they should not be afraid and they should not panic.”
Even so, disembarkers and staff at Tenerife’s Granadilla port wore protective gear during the evacuation, including hazmat suits, masks and respirators. video winner Associated Press Passengers on the tarmac were shown wearing similar clothing and being sprayed with disinfectant.
Another WHO official told The Associated Press that passengers were relieved as they headed home.
Hantaviruses are usually spread when: People inhale contaminated residue Rodent droppings, and the disease is not easily spread from person to person. but andes virus Outbreaks identified on cruise ships may in rare cases be able to spread from person to person. Symptoms usually appear within one to eight weeks after exposure.
Passengers and disembarking crew members left their luggage behind and were only allowed to carry a small bag containing essentials, mobile phones, chargers and documents.
Spanish authorities said some of the crew members, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, would remain on board and the ship would sail to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where it would be disinfected.
The cruise line said the journey to Rotterdam takes approximately five days.
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