By Elia Lopez
President Trump’s government launched an operation repatriation of 17 US citizens who were evacuated from MV Hondius cruise shipafter an outbreak of hantavirus Andean variant that forced international transfers and medical containment measures.
The United States Department of Health confirmed on Sunday, May 10, that passengers are already traveling on special air transport bound for the country, where they will be treated under biosafety protocols in specialized medical centers.
Two passengers travel in biocontainment units
During air transportation, two of the 17 Americans They were placed in biocontainment units inside the aircraft as a preventive measure.
One American with mild symptoms and another tested positive for hantavirus
Health authorities reported that one of the passengers has mild symptoms related to the virus, while another tested positive in a PCR test for Andean hantavirus, also with a mild condition.
The rest of the group travels under medical supervision while clinical monitoring is maintained on the way to US territory.
Medical care in specialized centers in Nebraska
Upon arrival in the United States, passengers will be transferred to the Regional Center for the Treatment of Special Emerging Pathogens (RESPTC), located in the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
There will be a particular clinical evaluation particular person to determine the health status of each person and define the corresponding medical follow-up.
Subsequently, the passenger with mild symptoms You will be referred to a second specialized facility within the same healthcare system for continued observation.
Outbreak on cruise ship MV Hondius triggered international evacuation
The repatriation of US citizens is part of an international operation derived from the hantavirus outbreak recorded on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which forced the evacuation of passengers of multiple nationalities from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.
The ship had been identified as an exposure point to the Andean variant of the virus, a strain that is primarily transmitted through contact with rodent droppingsalthough in rare cases transmission between people can occur.
WHO recommendations
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that all passengers and crew ofl MV Hondius be treated as high-risk contacts due to uncertainty about on-ship exposures.
Maria Van Kerkhoveresponsible for health emergencies at the WHO, pointed out that countries must apply active monitoring for a period of up to 42 days, with daily health checks and possible isolation at home or in medical centers.
The WHO also called for a coordinated response between countries to prevent further spread of the virus.
Keep reading:
- In pictures: the evacuation of passengers from the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus in Spain
- The operation to evacuate the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus begins in Tenerife, Spain
- What are the risks of hantavirus in the US? This is what the CDC says
- “A correct and apt obligation”: why Spain agreed to receive the cruise in emergency due to the hantavirus
