The US Department of Health and Human Services (US HHS) said on Sunday that, out of 17 Americans being repatriated from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, one has mild symptoms and another has tested mildly PCR-positive for the Andes strain of the virus.
All 17 passengers are being airlifted to the US, with the two suspected cases traveling in the plane’s biocontainment units to avoid additional exposure to the disease, according to the HHS.
The passengers will be transported to the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC) located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, where they will undergo clinical assessment and receive appropriate care and support based on their condition.
The two passengers suspected of being infected will be taken to another undisclosed RESPTC, where they will also undergo further testing for the virus.
Three people died from the hantavirus outbreak detected on an Oceanwide Expeditions cruise ship, with several passengers suspected of being infected with the virus.
According to the World Health Organization, eight people had fallen ill, including the three who died, in the outbreak, with six confirmed cases and two probable cases.
The WHO said on Wednesday it had not been notified of any changes to the Andes strain of hantavirus found on a cruise ship that would make it more transmissible.
“We haven’t been notified of any changes, of any changes in the sequence itself, to indicate that,” Maria Van Kerkhove, Director of Epidemic and Pandemic management at the WHO in Geneva, told Reuters.
