Map: The states monitoring hantavirus exposures after cruise ship outbreak |
Map: The states monitoring hantavirus exposures after cruise ship outbreak
(NEXSTAR) – Several states have confirmed they are either monitoring at least one resident for possible exposure to hantavirus or have at least one resident now in quarantine after being aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. In one state, health officials have confirmed both scenarios.
Earlier this week, 18 passengers from the MV Hondius — 17 Americans and one British dual national — were repatriated from Spain to Nebraska after potentially being exposed to the rare, sometimes deadly virus.
Sixteen of those patients are now at the National Quarantine Center, the only one of its kind in the U.S., at the University of Nebraska. Two, including one who was experiencing mild symptoms, were transported to Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Among those within the federal quarantine locations are two residents from California, one each from North Carolina and Oregon, and three each from New York and Utah.
While officials did not identify the Oregon resident, Dr. Stephen Kornfield previously said he was aboard the cruise ship and has since identified himself as the passenger who tested positive. Health officials earlier this week called his results inconclusive – one PCR test produced a negative result, while another was positive.
All of the passengers, who are now in quarantine, can remain there for 42 days, the incubation period for the Andes strain. They can also choose to quarantine elsewhere, according to health........