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Hantavirus live updates: Americans in quarantine seen in good spirits
Two cruise ship passengers complimented the quarantine staff and doctors.
The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus of those who were onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship stands at 10, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.
Passengers began disembarking on Sunday in the Canary Islands, where many boarded charter flights to their home countries.
Sixteen American passengers arrived on Monday at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Fifteen of those passengers were being monitored in a quarantine unit and another, who had initially tested positive, was in a biocontainment unit, officials said. Later, that person tested negative and was medically cleared to go to the quarantine unit.
Two other American passengers were flown to Atlanta for "further assessment and care," officials said.
Key Headlines
- American doctor who initially tested positive moved from isolation after negative test
- Minnesota monitoring person 'potentially exposed' to hantavirus, Health Department says
- Potential hantavirus case in Illinois not related to ship outbreak, health officials say
- American quarantining in Nebraska shares video tour of his room
- Passengers in Nebraska undergoing in-depth interviews, symptom monitoring
- 2 people being monitored in Seattle area
What is hantavirus and how does it spread?
Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.
How does hantavirus spread?
Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.
Read more about hantavirus here.
Spain prepares for 'isolated' evacuations as cruise ship approaches Canary Islands
Virigina Barcones, Spain's head of Emergencies and Civil Protection, provided more details Thursday about its plans for the MV Hondius when it arrives at the Canary Islands Sunday.
"They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area. They will board vehicles that are isolated and under guard, and will proceed to a section of the airport that will be completely cordoned off. They will board the aircraft and depart. I am saying this so that the people of the Canary Islands, the men and women living there, can rest assured that there will be absolutely no possibility of contact at any time," she said in a statement.
Barcones added that no one will be allowed to leave the boat unless they are going directly to the airport to return to their home countries.
"The United States has showed its willingness to send a plane to collect its citizens directly. Negotiations with the United Kingdom are also at an advanced stage. During meetings held throughout the day, the U.K. has also expressed its willingness to send a dedicated flight to repatriate its nationals," she said.
-ABC News' William Gretsky
2 infected patients in isolation in Dutch hospitals
Two patients infected with the hantavirus are currently hospitalized in hospitals in the Netherlands in a special units with isolation protocols, Dutch health officials said Thursday.
One patient is at Radboud University Medical Center, in the city of Nijmegen, while the other is at Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, officials said.
Health officials said the patients are not putting any other visitor or patient at risk.
Three additional people in the Netherlands have been tested for the virus, including a 69-year-old flight attendant. All three were in direct contact with the victim who died in South Africa, health officials said.
The flight attendant is currently admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam awaiting her test results, according to officials.
-ABC News' Aicha Elhammar
A timeline of the MV Hondius' voyage
The MV Hondius left on its voyage April 1 from Ushuaia, Argentina.
On April 6, a 70-year-old Dutch passenger fell ill with fever, headache and diarrhea, according to the WHO. That passenger died on April 11.
The ship was between the British island territories of South Georgia and St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic, according to data from the ship tracking website MarineTraffic.
The ship sailed on for nearly two weeks, stopping near the island of Tristan da Cunha before reaching St. Helena, where the Dutch man's body was removed on April 24.
A total 29 passengers from 12 countries disembarked while the ship was in Saint Helena.
The Dutch victim's 69-year-old widow also disembarked and flew to South Africa, where she collapsed at an airport there. Two days later, she died from the disease, according to officials.
Another passenger aboard the ship, a German national, died on May 2nd, a day before the ship arrived in Cape Verde.
The next day, the WHO announced it was investigating a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius.
The ship is currently en route to the Canary Islands.
Texas health officials monitoring two cruise ship passengers for hantavirus
Texas' Health and Humans Services said Thursday that it is monitoring two residents who were previously passengers on the MV Hondius.
The department said the passengers left the ship and returned to the U.S. before the outbreak was identified.
"Public health workers in Texas have reached the two individuals, and they report they are not experiencing any symptoms and did not have any contact with a sick person while aboard the ship. They have agreed to monitor themselves for symptoms with daily temperature checks and contact public health officials at any sign of a possible illness," the agency said.
California, Arizona and Georgia health officials are also monitoring residents associated with the MV Hondius for potential hantavirus infections.
-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud