Cruise Passengers Monitored for Hantavirus in Nebraska Can Leave Early if Conditions Met

Cruise ship passengers under observation for hantavirus in Nebraska can leave the medical facility before completing a 42-day monitoring period if they meet specific conditions, a public health official said Monday.

The individuals will stay at the Nebraska facility for at least a few days for assessments, said Brendan Jackson, acting director of the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

They can choose to remain in Nebraska for the full 42 days, but if they opt to return home, officials will consider factors such as whether they remain symptom-free, Jackson said. Health officials will also evaluate if passengers can safely isolate at home, stay in touch with local health departments and quickly obtain testing or medical care if symptoms appear.

Only those who meet these standards, and whose home states can coordinate monitoring, will receive clearance to leave. Officials stressed that passengers will have the final say.

"Yes," Jackson replied when asked if it would be their choice. "We want to do this in the least restrictive way possible that protects the health and safety of both the passengers and their communities."

Jackson added that passengers can stay at the facility for the entire monitoring period if required.

Of the 18 individuals brought back to the United States after a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, 16 are in Nebraska and two are in Atlanta.

Fifteen of those in Nebraska are in quarantine, while one is in the biocontainment unit, said Michael Wadman, medical director of the National Quarantine Unit at University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Angela Hewlett, medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, said during the press conference that the person in biocontainment had an equivocal positive test result obtained outside the United States. The individual showed no symptoms, she added.

One passenger sent to Atlanta was symptomatic, said Matthew Ferreira of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The risk to the general public from hantavirus is very low, Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Adm. Brian Christine said at the news conference.

"The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily and it requires prolonged, close contact with someone who is already symptomatic," he said.

The CDC states online that the Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to spread person-to-person, usually limited to close contacts such as direct physical contact, prolonged time in enclosed spaces or exposure to the sick person's body fluids.