Hantavirus outbreak. Photo: Shutterstock New York Health Commissioner, Dr. Alister Martin, has issued a statement on a New York City resident who disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship where the Hantavirus outbreak started.
"Today, three New York state residents who were passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship arrived at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. One passenger is from New York City. All three are expected to be subject to a 42-day monitoring period."
Dr. Marin added that the NYC Health Department is "working in close coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the NY State Department of Health, and other local health departments to monitor the situation."
"At this point, we do not know how long these individuals will stay in Nebraska and whether or when those individuals will return to New York. Currently, the risk to New Yorkers remains extremely low. We will keep New Yorkers informed as we monitor and respond to the situation."
"Currently the risk to New Yorkers for hantavirus remains extremely low. We will keep New Yorkers informed as we monitor and respond to the situation."
As a reminder, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that another passenger from the cruise ship, an 18-year-old American-British citizen, was transferred along with other passengers to the Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. The man arrived on the rescue flight organized by the US State Department, joining 15 other passengers staying at the medical center for medical evaluation, treatment and monitoring.
Two additional passengers developed mild symptoms during the flight and tested mildly CPR positive were transferred to the Emory University Infectious Disease Center in Atlanta.
As a reminder, Spain has also recently confirmed one national from the MV Hondius ship tested positive for Hantavirus. France has also placed five repatriated MV Hondius passengers in isolation after one of them started showing hantavirus-like symptoms during the evacuation flight."