US Evacuates Seventeen Citizens from Cruise Ship After Hantavirus Outbreak

(MENAFN) The United States has begun repatriating 17 American nationals from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Officials said a flight chartered by the US State Department transported the passengers from the MV Hondius after the ship docked in Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands. The evacuation was coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which helped oversee the operation.

Two of the passengers were transported under strict medical isolation conditions using biocontainment units. One of them was experiencing mild symptoms, while another had tested positive for the virus.

Upon arrival in the United States, the group is expected to be taken first to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha for medical assessment. The symptomatic patient will later be transferred to another specialized treatment facility.

Officials stated that “Upon arrival at each facility, each individual will undergo clinical assessment and receive appropriate care and support based on their condition,” according to the report.

The CDC has categorized the outbreak as a Level 3 emergency response, its lowest level of activation.

The outbreak involves the Andes strain of hantavirus, which has been linked to five confirmed cases, including three fatalities, according to World Health Organization-related information. Experts have identified this strain as a rare variant capable of human-to-human transmission, typically through close contact.

Reports also indicate that two of the deceased passengers had traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay prior to boarding the cruise ship.

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