Seventeen Americans are being prepared for evacuation from a cruise ship plagued by Hantavirus and will be transported to Nebraska as medical professionals monitor the situation closely. Photographs from inside the MV Hondius show the 147 passengers appearing relaxed, watching soccer, enjoying tea, and whale watching. Evacuations are scheduled to begin between Sunday and Monday, coordinated with the Spanish government after the ship docks in Tenerife tonight.
Evacuation Process
Passengers will leave the vessel in full protective gear, grouped by nationality, and will be directly transferred to a plane for their destination. The CDC and Health Department have dispatched a repatriation plane to collect the 17 Americans, who will be flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha. Initially, it was reported they would be taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center's National Quarantine Unit, the only federally funded quarantine facility in the country.
'We are prepared for situations exactly like this,' said Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, in a statement. However, on Saturday, the CDC announced that federal officials will not require mandatory quarantine and will not test passengers unless they exhibit symptoms.
Passenger Activities and Health Monitoring
Passengers are entertaining themselves by watching soccer matches and reading news. So far, no American on the cruise ship has shown symptoms of Hantavirus. If symptoms develop, they can be treated at the school's Biocontainment Unit, a highly specialized facility for high-consequence infectious diseases. 'People should know these facilities were specifically designed to prevent exposure to the public. There is no risk to the community from people being cared for in these units,' Ash added.
The National Quarantine Unit has 20 rooms with individual negative pressure systems and en suite bathrooms, offering WiFi and exercise equipment. However, the government now recommends home monitoring and limiting activity outside the house.
CDC Alert and Outbreak Risk
The CDC is alerting US doctors and hospitals about a potential surge in Hantavirus cases linked to the cruise ship, though officials say an outbreak in the US is extremely unlikely. Passengers will not have contact with civilians on the Canary Islands, as all travel areas will be isolated, according to Virginia Balcones, secretary general of civil protection. Prior to disembarkation, passengers will be evaluated for symptoms; none currently show any.
The CDC has sent epidemiologists and medical professionals to conduct exposure risk assessments for each American passenger. So far, nine cases have originated from the cruise ship, including three deaths. It is suspected that a Dutch couple who died may have brought the virus on board after bird watching in areas with the Andes strain, the only strain transmissible between humans.
Hantavirus, with a 40 percent mortality rate, typically spreads through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and rarely from person to person, according to the World Health Organization, which assesses the public risk as low. Several Americans are already being monitored in the US after a dozen passengers left the ship earlier during the journey.
Earlier Disembarkations and State Monitoring
Six passengers disembarked the MV Hondius on April 24 on St. Helena, 13 days after the first death on board, operator Oceanwide Expeditions revealed. The Arizona Department of Health Services confirmed notification about one resident from the ship. California's Department of Public Health said it was alerted by the CDC about residents on board. New Jersey became the sixth state monitoring for Hantavirus after a resident may have been exposed on a plane.
