New Hantavirus Cases Emerge Following Cruise Ship Outbreak as Global Health Officials Implement Strict Quarantine Measures

Health officials are reporting additional hantavirus cases linked to an outbreak that began on a cruise ship last month, bringing the total to 11 confirmed cases including three deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

Passengers from multiple countries are now quarantining as health officials worldwide work to prevent further spread of the virus. The WHO Director-General has warned that more cases could emerge due to the virus’s 42-day incubation period.

“All suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, minimizing any risk of further transmission,” the Director-General of the World Health Organization said.

Eighteen passengers landed back in the United States after the cruise docked at the Spanish Canary Islands over the weekend. Of those, 16 are staying at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, while the other two are at a facility at Emory University in Atlanta.

Two people are currently in biocontainment units—one passenger in Nebraska who tested positive for hantavirus, and another in Atlanta who is experiencing symptoms but has not yet tested positive. Officials report the remaining individuals are asymptomatic.

Several states are monitoring for potential symptoms among passengers who disembarked in late April and are already back home, as well as others who were exposed during a flight with an infected passenger.

Those who do not test positive or show symptoms in the coming days will have the option to isolate at home. “If anybody leaves under the quarantine period, which is 42 days, they are placed into PPE, completely protected and then escorted by the federal government into charter protected transport,” a health official explained. “No one’s going on the street. No one’s going to dinner in Nebraska or visiting the zoo. It’s just not going to happen.”

Global health officials have faced criticism for allowing passengers and crew off the ship. However, the WHO Director-General defended the decision, stating it would have been “inhumane” to force them to remain onboard for the entire quarantine period, and maintained that the risk to the general public remains low.