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Hantavirus live updates: 41 people under monitoring across US
Sixteen ship passengers are being monitored in Nebraska's quarantine unit.
The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus of those who were onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship stands at 10, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.
Sixteen American passengers arrived on Monday at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Fifteen of those passengers were being monitored in a quarantine unit and another, who had initially tested positive, was in a biocontainment unit, officials said. Later, that person tested negative and was medically cleared to go to the quarantine unit.
Two other American passengers were flown to Atlanta for "further assessment and care," officials said.
Key Headlines
- 12 quarantined staff members at Dutch hospital were not contagious to others, hospital says
- 41 people under monitoring for hantavirus across US, CDC says
- All close contact patients in France test negative, health minister says
- 3 in Kansas taken to hospital for observation after being exposed to hantavirus abroad
What is hantavirus and how does it spread?
Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.
How does hantavirus spread?
Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.
Read more about hantavirus here.
Maryland health officials monitoring 2 residents after possible hantavirus exposure
The Maryland Department of Health said it is monitoring two residents who were on an overseas flight with a MV Hondius cruise ship passenger who later tested positive for the hantavirus.
Health officials said the monitoring is out of an abundance of caution and that the risk to the public is very low.
“No hantavirus cases have been identified in Maryland since 2019. Andes virus infections have never been reported in Maryland,” the Maryland Health Department said.
-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson
Spanish national tests positive
One of the Spanish passengers isolated at Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid has tested provisionally positive, bringing the total likely number of hantaviruses case to 11, according to Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia.
The passenger does not have symptoms, Garcia said. The passenger is isolate in good condition and is under constant monitoring, Garcia said.
“The other 13 passengers have tested provisionally negative. In the coming hours, we will know the definitive results,” Garcia added.
Ship sets sail after evacuating passengers, crew
The MV Hondius cruise ship has set sail from Spain after evacuating passengers and crew from 23 countries, Spanish health minister Monica Garcia said.
"Mission accomplished. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. We continue working to protect public health,” Garcia said.
The ship still has "around 30 people, the crew and two health workers, and they will need our support throughout their journey until they reach Rotterdam,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “... We will continue to monitor and support them in any way possible.”
8 more people in isolation in French hospital, prime minister says
Eight French nationals who shared a flight with a sick person 15 days ago are now in isolation at a hospital in France, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said. None of the eight have symptoms, he said.
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This is in additional to the five French nationals who returned to France on Sunday from the cruise ship and are in isolation at Bichat Hospital in Paris. Four are still testing negative, while the one who tested positive for hantavirus is in intensive care in stable condition, the prime minister said.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky