JAKARTA - The United States has repatriated 17 of its citizens from the MV Hondius cruise ship after a hantavirus outbreak was detected on the ship. Two passengers received special treatment because one person had mild symptoms and the other was positive for the virus.
Quoted from Anadolu Agency, Monday, May 11, the US Department of Health and Human Services stated that the repatriation was carried out after the MV Hondius docked in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on Sunday.
The flight was chartered by the US State Department. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also coordinated the evacuation process.
The two passengers were flown in a biocontainment unit on the plane. A biocontainment unit is a special room or facility to carry infectious patients so that they remain separate from other passengers during the flight.
Passengers were first taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Passengers with symptoms will then be transferred to a second specialized care center.
"Upon arrival at each facility, everyone will undergo clinical examination and receive treatment and support according to their condition," said the US health authority.
The CDC designated the outbreak a Level 3 emergency response. This is the lowest level of emergency activation at the agency.
According to World Health Organization officials, the outbreak involving the Andes strain of hantavirus has led to five confirmed cases, including three deaths.
Scientists determined the outbreak was caused by a rare Andes variant. This strain is the only known hantavirus type that can be transmitted between humans, usually through close contact.
The WHO said the two passengers who later died had traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the ship.
The CDC said passengers would be monitored for about six weeks, according to the virus' incubation period. The incubation period is the period from when a person is exposed to the virus until symptoms appear.
Health authorities in several US states have also tracked travelers who had left the ship before the outbreak was confirmed.
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