After one American passenger linked to the Hondius outbreak tested positive for the Andean strain of Hantavirus infection while another had mild symptoms, authorities repatriated 17 American citizens from the cruise ship.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the New York Times that the Americans were traveling on a plane from Tenerife that arrived in Nebraska. Associated Press video showed a Kalitta Air plane landing in Omaha early Monday.
The US State Department transported them to the United States on a special evacuation flight, according to Bloomberg. Two of them were flown in biocontainment units “out of an abundance of caution,” the US Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Sunday.
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Seventeen US citizens have been repatriated from Spain after one traveler linked to the Hantavirus outbreak tested positive for the Andean strain and another had mild symptoms. They were taken on a special evacuation flight for medical assessment and monitoring.
The Andes strain of Hantavirus is the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission in a close contact environment. Although usually transmitted by rodents, it can spread between people in close proximity, though not through the air like the flu or COVID-19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that travelers be actively monitored for up to 42 days due to the extended incubation period of the virus. This monitoring includes health checks and potential quarantine.
Early symptoms of hantavirus infection resemble the flu, including fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal problems. In severe cases, it can progress to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome with shortness of breath and fluid in the lungs.
The American strain of hantavirus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a serious respiratory illness. According to the ECDC, around 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die.
Upon arrival, the passengers are expected to be transferred to a specialized treatment facility in Omaha for medical evaluation and monitoring, and further treatment if necessary.
The development marks the first confirmed infection involving a US citizen related to the outbreak, which has already claimed three lives and sparked a response in several countries.
What did the WHO say?
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that all laboratory-confirmed cases involved the Andean strain of Hantavirus infection, the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission in a close-contact environment. The agency added that it considers the overall global risk to be low.
Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN’s State of the Union: “We don’t want to treat it like Covid. We don’t want to cause public panic about it.”
Repatriation flights began on Sunday after the Hondius docked in Tenerife, with passengers flown to countries including Spain, France, Canada and the Netherlands, World Health Organization officials said. The WHO recommended that travelers be actively monitored for up to 42 days due to the extended incubation period of the virus.
The UK said military personnel had parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha to deliver medical supplies, highlighting the logistical difficulties of reaching the isolated island. A British resident associated with the cruise is currently being monitored as a suspected case.
Former White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Responds
Some specialists say the epidemic could change the understanding of how the virus is transmitted. Former White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha said in a post on X that early evidence suggests infection can occur without prolonged close contact and urged authorities to implement strict quarantine measures for travelers.
Previous studies of Andean hantavirus outbreaks have shown that the virus can spread in shared spaces even without direct physical contact, including brief interactions in crowded indoor environments, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
What is Hantavirus?
Hantavirus infection is a rare group of diseases caused by rodent-borne viruses. Andes Hantavirus Infection, the strain identified by the WHO as the source of the outbreak aboard the Atlantic cruise ship, is the only known variant of hantavirus that can spread between people who have been in close contact.
The unusual Andes strain has so far caused three deaths among passengers and infected five others during the cruise outbreak, according to WHO officials.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
