Americans Return From Hantavirus-Infected Cruise Ship, 1 Tests Positive, 1 Has Symptoms
Hantavirus-Infected Cruise American Passengers Return 1 Tests Positive, 1 Shows Symptoms
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Seventeen American passengers from the cruise ship at the center of the deadly hantavirus outbreak are officially back in the U.S. ... and one of them has already tested positive, and another is showing symptoms.
Health officials say the passengers were pulled from the infected ship MV Hondius and flown to the U.S., where they're now being checked out in highly specialized quarantine units.
Two of the evacuees were transported in full-on biocontainment pods to stop any spread of the virus ... making this the moment the outbreak officially hit U.S. soil. The Department of Health & Human Services says one person tested positive but was showing no symptoms, while the other was experiencing mild symptoms. Further clinical assessment was ongoing, the department said.
The rest of the ship's passengers have been heading back to their home countries as authorities scramble to contain the situation.
As we reported, the MV Hondius sparked international panic after three passengers died from hantavirus last month, with eight more infections later confirmed onboard.
The outbreak has rattled the world as another potential COVID-19 situation -- though the World Health Organization says it still doesn't qualify as a pandemic.
Hantavirus is caused by contact with infected mouse or rat feces and urine. The WHO confirmed last week the outbreak onboard the Hondius involves the Andes virus strain -- the only known hantavirus capable of spreading from person to person through close and prolonged contact involving bodily fluids.
