U.S. plans evacuation for Americans on cruise ship in hantavirus outbreak
Summary
The U.S. government is sending a special plane to bring 17 Americans home from a cruise ship with a hantavirus outbreak. The passengers will be carefully evacuated in Spain and flown to a medical center that can safely treat infectious diseases.Key Facts
- 17 Americans on the MV Hondius cruise ship will be evacuated by a plane from the CDC and Department of Health and Human Services.
- The ship is near the Canary Islands and will anchor offshore since it cannot dock in Tenerife.
- Passengers will leave the ship in small groups after health checks to avoid spreading the hantavirus.
- The Americans will be flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which has a special unit to treat dangerous diseases.
- There are nine confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases linked to the cruise, including three deaths.
- The virus involved is the Andes strain, which can spread from person to person, unlike most hantaviruses.
- Over a dozen countries, including the U.S., are monitoring people who left the cruise before the outbreak was confirmed.
- Health officials say the risk of hantavirus spreading widely like COVID-19 is very low.
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