The U.S. government is planning to evacuate American passengers from a cruise ship linked to a hantavirus outbreak and transport them to a military base in Nebraska for isolation and health monitoring, federal health officials announced on Friday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to American citizens remains very low as preparations for medical repatriation flights for passengers of the M/V Hondius are underway.
President Trump indicated earlier on Friday that the situation seems manageable, emphasizing that the virus does not spread easily.
“We have very good people on this,” he said. “They understand the virus well. It hasn’t been easy to transmit, so I hope that’s true.” He reiterated that things seem to be under control, distinguishing it from more easily spread illnesses like the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization reported that the outbreak, which began in early April with one ill passenger, has since resulted in at least three fatalities after cases were noted in several countries following disembarkation in Africa and Europe. Health authorities are actively tracing contacts worldwide.
At one point, officials in Cape Verde restricted passengers from leaving the ship, highlighting the containment concerns. The CDC explains that hantavirus is quite rare but can be severe and typically spreads through contact with infected rodents or their droppings.
While most strains of hantavirus do not transmit from person to person, health experts have identified the Andes virus as the only strain known to have limited human-to-human transmission linked to cruise ships.
The ship is now en route to Spain’s Canary Islands, where an international team is already making plans for the passengers and crew.
A CDC team is on their way to the Canary Islands to evaluate potential exposure among the American passengers and assess any necessary health monitoring.
The returning passengers will be flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, on a medical repatriation flight organized by the U.S. government. They will then be moved to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for further observation.
Additional CDC staff will be present at Offutt Air Force Base to support health screenings.
