After three weeks in federal quarantine, five of 18 U.S. passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak are going home after remaining symptom-free and meeting criteria for monitoring outside the quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, U.S. health officials said on June 1.
None of the U.S. passengers has shown any symptoms, a spokesperson for Nebraska Medicine said.
Federal officials arranged travel for the five people going home, in coordination with state and local authorities. Officials said the five people would not travel on commercial flights and that appropriate biocontainment measures would be in place.
Upon returning home, the passengers will be surveilled 24/7 by law enforcement or public health officers to ensure they do not leave their homes or allow anyone to visit, as required by federal law, the officials said.
New York state’s health commissioner, Dr. James McDonald, said the state was receiving two passengers cleared for home quarantine, with a third New York resident opting to remain at the Nebraska facility.
“Both passengers have agreed and are required to remain at their residences, have no contact with other people, and participate in daily monitoring activities conducted by local health officials. Plans are in place to transport them to appropriate medical facilities in the unlikely event they develop symptoms or need any other medical care,” he said in a statement.
“It is important to emphasize that there is no immediate risk to the public.”
Among the 13 who chose to remain in federal quarantine was Jake Rosmarin from Boston, who said in an Instagram post that staying for the full 42 days gives him “peace of mind.”
“I do not want to leave here until I know that there is a zero percent chance of me getting sick, a zero percent chance of me risking my family and friends getting sick, or the general public getting sick,” he said.
The 18 passengers quarantined in Nebraska disembarked from the MV Hondius in the Canary Islands on May 10 and were transferred to Nebraska for quarantine by May 11.
Not everyone quarantined in Nebraska has been happy about it. About a week after the 18 arrived, U.S. health officials issued quarantine orders forcing two passengers who wanted to leave to stay there.
3 Deaths
As of June 1, the World Health Organization said there have been 13 cases linked to the hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which had 147 passengers and crew onboard. No Americans are among those who have tested positive.
Three of the 13 have died, including the Dutch couple who were the first to show symptoms. All of the cases involve the Andes Hantavirus strain, which is the only strain known to transmit from person to person. The CDC says the risk of spread to the public is low, as hantavirus transmission is believed to only occur through close contact with infected people or their bodily fluids.
The virus can cause severe respiratory disease in people, called Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). It is spread by rodents in South America. Early symptoms can look like the flu, according to the CDC.
The cruise ship MV Hondius, docked in Rotterdam, has now been disinfected and cleared for its next voyage, according to its operator.
“As part of this assessment, the vessel was declared rodent-free by qualified third-party professionals,” the Dutch cruise line Oceanwide Expeditions said. “The cleaning phase ensured the removal of residual organic matter before an in-depth disinfection treatment of all hard surfaces with registered disinfection products and hydrogen peroxide. Specialists also performed high-temperature steam cleaning on all soft surfaces.”
The ship is scheduled to set sail again on June 6 for Longyearbyen in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, from where it will take passengers on June 13 for voyages in the Arctic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
