US Evacuates Cruise Passengers Amid Hantavirus Outbreak

The United States is evacuating 18 American passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship following a hantavirus outbreak that has killed three people. The luxury cruise, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions and departed from Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1st, docked early Sunday at Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified the outbreak as a 'Level 3' emergency response. At least six confirmed cases and two probable infections are linked to the vessel. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that this strain of hantavirus, specifically the Andes virus, is unlikely to become a pandemic like Covid-19 as it spreads through close contact rather than easily in the air.

The CDC sent staff to the Canary Islands to escort American passengers back to the US. Another team traveled to Nebraska and Atlanta, where passengers are expected to quarantine at designated facilities. Michael Wadman, medical director of the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska, said that each individual would have their own room and that they were preparing for 16 Americans to arrive in Nebraska and two in Atlanta.

Spanish officials announced that the disembarkation process occurred in groups of five, with passengers being taken directly from small boats to buses and then to their nation's plane. The WHO is working to provide health checks for everyone on board and assess each person's level of exposure. None of the 147 people on board were experiencing symptoms as of Friday.

One American experiencing mild symptoms and another who tested 'mildly PCR positive' for the Andes strain of hantavirus are traveling in biocontainment units, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The flight came after the cruise ship Hondius docked early Sunday at Tenerife. Local authorities, the World Health Organization, and some international governments led the disembarkation process.

President Donald Trump said earlier that the situation appears under control, pointing to the virus being difficult to transmit. The outbreak began with a passenger who became sick in early April and later resulted in at least three deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Cases are now reported across multiple countries after passengers disembarked in Africa and Europe.

Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly disease typically spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings. While most strains do not spread between people, health officials say the Andes virus — identified in some cases linked to the cruise ship — is the only known strain capable of limited person-to-person transmission.

The CDC emphasized that there is low risk for a widespread outbreak and stressed that transmission of the virus from person to person is rare. The three fatalities were a Dutch couple and a German woman, with the Dutch couple believed to have contracted the virus during a birdwatching excursion at an Argentine landfill site before boarding the ship.

Seven American passengers who had already returned to the United States have been monitored while at their homes and exhibited no symptoms related to the virus. The remaining 17 passengers will be brought back into the country and stationed inside the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where they will also be monitored.

A total of six confirmed and two probable hantavirus cases have been connected to the vessel. Two deaths are among the confirmed cases. The vessel first departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. Though the first known passenger became ill April 6 and died April 11, the outbreak was not identified until May 2 -- about a week after 30 people, including six Americans and the body of one of the deceased, disembarked at St. Helena on April 24.

Admiral Brian Christine of the US Health and Human Services department (HHS) emphasized that 'the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low.' The Andes variant does not spread easily and requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic. Passengers in Nebraska are reported to be in good shape and spirits.

The CDC cautioned that people could have symptoms without necessarily having the hantavirus. Any mild cold symptoms would count as a symptom, noting they were being extra cautious. Health officials are focused on 'symptom monitoring' and will determine on a case-by-case basis whether passengers need to complete the full 42-day quarantine period.