World
US Very Careful: Trump on Hantavirus After American Tests Positive for Andes Strain
US President Donald Trump has said authorities are being “very careful” as health officials monitor passengers evacuated from a cruise ship linked to a hantavirus outbreak that has spread across several countries. Speaking at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the Andes strain of hantavirus involved in the outbreak was “much harder to catch” than Covid-19.
“It’s been around for a long time. People are very familiar with it,” he said. “I hope it’s fine. All I can do is everything that a president can do, which is somewhat limited, but it seems like it is not easy to spread.”
“It’s in certain ways very hard to spread… We’ve lived with it for years, many years, and we think we’re in very good shape. We’re very careful, and Nebraska has done a fantastic job [isolating returning US cruise ship passengers],” he added.
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who appeared alongside Trump, said officials believed the situation was contained. “We have this under control and we’re not worried about it,” he said.
Americans Quarantined in Nebraska
Eighteen Americans evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius were flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, early on Monday.
Officials said 15 passengers were being housed at the facility’s National Quarantine Unit, while one passenger who tested positive for the Andes variant of hantavirus was being treated in a specialised biocontainment unit.
Another passenger was reported to be showing mild symptoms. That individual and their partner were later transferred to Emory Hospital in Atlanta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEdpnWzpwBYBrendan Jackson, acting director of the CDC’s Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said the move was intended to preserve capacity at Nebraska’s biocontainment facility “for anyone who might need it among the other passengers”.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the infected passenger had tested “mildly PCR positive” for the virus but was not showing symptoms.
Passenger Shares Update from Quarantine
Travel influencer Jake Rosmarin posted a selfie from the quarantine facility in Omaha on Monday, saying he was “feeling well”. “Hopping back on for a second to let everyone know I’m okay and feeling well,” he wrote on Instagram. “The repatriation flight was smooth, and I safely made it to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha.”
“It’s been a very long few days, but hopefully I can start giving more updates again soon,” he added. Rosmarin also thanked the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the city of Omaha “for welcoming us and helping ensure we are safe and cared for”.
What We Know About the Evacuation
The passengers were evacuated after the MV Hondius anchored in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands following an outbreak that has left three people dead. Five others who had previously left the ship were also found to be infected.
The World Health Organization, Spain’s Health Ministry and cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions earlier said none of the more than 140 passengers still on board had shown symptoms.
However, French authorities later confirmed that a French passenger developed symptoms during a flight home to France and subsequently tested positive for hantavirus.
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said four other French passengers had tested negative but would undergo further testing. Health authorities in France said they had identified 22 contact cases linked to the outbreak.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the infected passenger was a woman.
What is Hantavirus?
Hantavirus is typically spread through exposure to contaminated rodent droppings, urine or saliva, often when particles become airborne and are inhaled.
The disease is not usually transmitted between people. However, health authorities say the Andes strain identified in the outbreak may, in rare cases, spread through close human contact. Symptoms can appear between one and eight weeks after exposure.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the public not to panic.
“We have been repeating the same answer many times,” he said. “This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn’t be scared, and they shouldn’t panic.”
Countries across Europe and beyond have launched quarantine and monitoring measures for passengers evacuated from the ship.
Spanish passengers were flown to Madrid and taken to a military hospital, while French evacuees were hospitalised in Paris “until further notice”, according to French officials.
British authorities said passengers arriving in the UK would undergo 72 hours of hospital quarantine followed by six weeks of self-isolation. Japan’s Foreign Ministry said a Japanese national evacuated on a British-organised flight would remain under monitoring in the UK for up to 45 days.
Greek authorities said a Greek passenger would undergo mandatory hospital quarantine in Athens for 45 days.
A Dutch evacuation plane carrying 26 passengers from several countries landed in Eindhoven late on Sunday. Dutch citizens were transported home for self-isolation, while quarantine arrangements were being made for other passengers.
Australian authorities also dispatched an evacuation flight to Tenerife, which Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said was expected to be the final repatriation flight from the island.
