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Hantavirus live updates: Patient in France presenting 'severe form' of virus

The French patient is "in intensive care in a serious condition."

The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship has risen to 11, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.

Passengers disembarked the cruise ship in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, to be transferred to charter flights back to their home countries.

On Monday, 16 American cruise ship passengers arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; 15 are in the quarantine unit and one person who tested positive is in the biocontainment unit, officials said. Two other American cruise ship passengers were flown to Atlanta for "further assessment and care," officials said.


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.


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WHO working to coordinate screening process for crew, passengers

Anais Legand, the technical officer with the World Health Organization, briefed the press Friday about the organization's efforts to screen the M/V Hondius' crew and passengers after the ship arrives in the Canary Islands.

Health teams will work with national authorities and each boat member will be assessed by trained medical staff, he said.


Epidemiologists will review individual exposure histories and interactions, according to Legand.

"So this is a way for us to get all the pieces together and have the maximum information to be able to assess any risk for this person and give them the right recommendation," he said.

-ABC News' Othon Leyva


CDC personnel to meet Americans on hantavirus-stricken ship

An official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to ABC News that the agency will be dispatching personnel to the Canary Islands, where the M/V Hondius -- the cruise ship at the center of a suspected hantavirus cluster -- is scheduled to arrive on Sunday.

Teams will then escort those Americans to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud


Which states are monitoring potential hantavirus

No U.S. residents have experienced any signs of illness as of Friday morning, according to health officials. However, six states are tracking nine residents for possible hantavirus infections.

Health officials in Texas, New Jersey and Georgia are monitoring two people while officials in California, Virginia and Arizona say they each are monitoring one person.


2 New Jersey residents being monitored for hantavirus

Two New Jersey residents -- who were not passengers on the cruise ship M/V Hondius -- are being monitored for possible hantavirus infections.

The state's health department was notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the residents were potentially exposed to an infected cruise ship passenger during a flight. Neither individual is reporting symptoms.

This brings the total of U.S. residents under monitoring to at least nine across six states. None have shown any signs of illness at this time.

-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud