US citizens test positive and show symptoms after hantavirus cruise exposure
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 11
US citizens test positive and show symptoms after hantavirus cruise exposure
11 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 11
HHS said one of 17 Americans airlifted from the MV Hondius tested mildly positive for the Andes strain, while another symptomatic passenger travelled in a biocontainment unit.
The evacuees are being taken to specialist treatment centres in Omaha, Nebraska, and a second facility for clinical assessment, with officials saying the public risk remains low.
The ship is anchored near Tenerife after eight illnesses and six confirmed infections; a Dutch couple and a German national have died, and several countries are repatriating passengers.
If the public risk is 'extremely low,' why the dramatic airlifts to top-level biocontainment units?
With an 8-week incubation, why aren't all exposed passengers tested to prevent silent community spread?
How did a modern cruise ship become an incubator for a deadly virus that now jumps between humans?