A Boeing 747 carrying 17 American passengers from a cruise ship affected by a hantavirus outbreak touched down in Omaha, Nebraska, early Monday morning. The Kalitta Air-operated jumbo jet landed at Eppley Airfield just before 2:30 a.m. after a more than nine-hour journey from Tenerife, Spain, according to FlightAware data.
Passenger Health Status
One of the American passengers has tested positive for hantavirus but is not showing any symptoms, US health officials confirmed late Sunday. Another passenger exhibited mild symptoms. Upon landing, the passengers were transferred to awaiting buses and driven away from the airport.
The 17 individuals who arrived in Nebraska do not include seven other Americans who disembarked from the ship shortly before the outbreak began. Those seven are being monitored by health officials in their home states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, and New Jersey.
Medical Evaluation and Quarantine
The passengers who landed in Nebraska have been taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which houses a federally funded quarantine facility. There, they will undergo assessment to determine their level of contact with symptomatic individuals and their risk of spreading the virus.
Kayla Thomas, a spokesperson for Nebraska Medicine, stated: 'One passenger will be transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit upon arrival, while other passengers will go to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring. The passenger who is going to the Biocontainment Unit tested positive for the virus but does not have symptoms.'
The medical center also operates a specialized unit for treating highly infectious diseases, previously used for COVID-19 and Ebola patients.
Global Response to Outbreak
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius cruise ship has become the center of international concern after three passengers died from the rare virus. Nations worldwide are working to repatriate over 140 passengers from the vessel.
Eight cases of hantavirus have been confirmed in the outbreak, with two more listed as 'probable,' according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and national health authorities. Citizens from six countries have been affected. Health authorities stress that the risk to the broader public remains low.
Spain's health ministry confirmed that 'all measures' were taken to prevent virus spread during evacuations, with medical teams escorting passengers from the ship to Tenerife airport under close supervision and health checks.
Specific Cases
The US citizen who tested positive 'did not show symptoms when they were in Cape Verde,' where the MV Hondius stopped before reaching the Canary Islands, the ministry said. 'However, the US authorities have decided to treat the case as positive. For that reason, they requested a separate evacuation, which was carried out in a separate boat.'
A French woman who tested positive 'started to feel unwell during the flight and not while she was on the ship,' French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Monday. Her condition worsened overnight in the hospital. She was among five French passengers repatriated on Sunday.
WHO Recommendations
The WHO has recommended close monitoring of former passengers, and many countries have implemented quarantines. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus assured the public: 'This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn't be scared, and they shouldn't panic.'
WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove noted that this is the first-ever hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. Hantavirus typically spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people, but the Andes virus detected in this outbreak may have rare human-to-human transmission.
Symptoms, including fever, chills, and muscle aches, usually appear one to eight weeks after exposure.
International Evacuations
Passengers began flying home aboard military and government planes Sunday after the MV Hondius anchored in the Canary Islands. Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks escorted travelers from ship to shore in Tenerife.
Australia is sending a plane expected to arrive Monday to evacuate its citizens and those from nearby countries, including New Zealand and unspecified Asian nations, said Spanish Health Minister Mónica García. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen confirmed a second Dutch flight Monday would bring back more passengers from the Netherlands and other nations.
Berendsen said the operation 'is based on concern for the passengers. But also concern for public health, and we try to do that in the best way.'
