The Hague: Countries around the world on Monday repatriated passengers of a cruise ship hit by a deadly Hantavirus outbreak and placed them in quarantine or isolation, including a French woman and an American who tested positive.The ship’s passengers began returning home on military and government aircraft on Sunday after the MV Hondius docked in the Canary Islands. Personnel wearing full-body protective gear and breathing masks escorted travelers from the ship to shore in Tenerife, efforts that continued Monday.Three cruise ship passengers have died, and there are at least six confirmed cases of Hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization. WHO spokeswoman Sarah Tyler said on Monday that laboratory results for the American who tested positive were inconclusive. Health authorities say the risk to the wider public is low from the first-ever hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. While there is no cure or vaccine for Hantavirus, the World Health Organization says early detection and treatment improves survival rates. The ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, issued a video message on Monday in which he praised passengers and crew for their perseverance and called for their privacy to be respected.French Health Minister Stephanie Rest said on Monday that the French woman tested positive for the Hantavirus and her health condition deteriorated in hospital overnight.
The woman was among five French passengers repatriated on Sunday. Rest told France Inter public radio that she developed symptoms during the flight to Paris.US health officials said late Sunday that one of the 18 passengers evacuated from the ship and flown to Nebraska had tested positive for Hantavirus but had no symptoms, while another had mild symptoms. After landing in Nebraska early Monday, the American passengers were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which has a federally funded quarantine facility.
Once they arrived, they were assessed to determine if they had been in close contact with any people showing symptoms and their risk levels of spreading the virus.The planes arriving in Tenerife were scheduled to carry passengers from more than 20 countries in an evacuation that was scheduled to end on Monday. On Monday, 54 passengers and crew remained on board the ship, 22 of whom are expected to disembark, while the remaining 32 will remain on board the ship during its return to the Netherlands.
