Washington, 09 May (H.S.):

American passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, epicenter of a hantavirus outbreak, will undergo quarantine at a secure facility in Nebraska upon US arrival, according to a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official.

The National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha will receive the 17 affected citizens, who are set for repatriation via a State Department flight following the ship's docking in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday.

Michael Wadman, the unit's medical director, confirmed the arrangements amid heightened global vigilance, with the CDC activating its Emergency Operations Center at Level 3 alert—the lowest tier—for the rare rodent-borne virus.

The MV Hondius, returning from a Patagonian Antarctic expedition, has reported at least six lab-confirmed hantavirus cases and two probable ones across five countries, including three deaths—two confirmed and one probable linked to the Andes strain.

No secondary transmissions from passenger contacts have surfaced, and WHO emphasizes low public risk despite the human-transmissible variant identified in cases.

Spanish authorities traced a second asymptomatic contact in Catalonia—a woman who shared a flight with a deceased Dutch traveler—after a seat change initially evaded detection; she now falls under national surveillance protocols.

Meanwhile, seven Americans who disembarked early are isolating symptom-free across five states.

Hantaviruses, hosted persistently in rodents without harming them, infect humans via inhalation of aerosolized particles from urine, droppings, or saliva—often in enclosed spaces with rodent activity.

The outbreak strain, potentially the Andes virus from South America, raises concerns for limited person-to-person spread, though rare globally.

Early flu-like symptoms—fever, fatigue, muscle aches (especially thighs, back), headaches, chills, nausea, and abdominal issues—emerge 1-8 weeks post-exposure, progressing in 4-10 days to severe hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS): coughing, shortness of breath, and fluid-filled lungs.

No cure, vaccine, or specific antiviral exists; ribavirin shows unproven promise in severe cases. Survival hinges on early ICU intervention: oxygen therapy, intubation, mechanical ventilation, fluid management, blood pressure support, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for critical respiratory failure.

Prompt recognition dramatically boosts outcomes, with recovery often involving prolonged fatigue.

Health officials urge rodent exposure vigilance and immediate medical consultation for matching symptoms, as the WHO coordinates with Spanish counterparts on evacuation screening.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar