Passengers from cruise ship with Hantavirus infection return to several US states, their condition monitored

(Patria) - Health officials in several U.S. states said they are closely monitoring a handful of passengers who have returned to the country after being stranded on a cruise ship where guests and crew members fell ill with a rare and deadly Hantavirus.

The Arizona Department of Health Services said it is monitoring one resident who was a passenger on the ship, which departed from Argentina several weeks ago and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean. The Georgia Department of Public Health said it is monitoring two people who have returned home.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the California Department of Public Health that California residents were also on board. A department spokesperson said it is assisting local health authorities with monitoring but did not disclose the number of residents who returned to the state, according to The New York Times.

“There is no indication that any California residents are ill or infected,” Robert Barsanti, a spokesperson for the department, told The Times. “The risk to public health in California is currently low.”

None of the three passengers who returned to Arizona and Georgia have shown signs of illness, state officials added.

“The health and safety of all U.S. passengers remain our top priority,” the CDC said in its first public statement on the outbreak.

“The State Department is leading a coordinated whole-of-government response, including direct contact with passengers, diplomatic coordination, and engagement with domestic and international health authorities.”

So far, three passengers have died, and several others have been infected with Andes virus, a type of Hantavirus. The cruise ship MV Hondius, flying a Dutch flag, left the Cape Verde Islands en route to Spain’s Canary Islands with nearly 150 people on board on Wednesday.

The head of the World Health Organization said two patients with Hantavirus and one suspected case were also evacuated from the ship, adding that the United Nations health agency is working with cruise operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew still on board.

The risk of a global epidemic is low, according to the WHO. The organization’s leading epidemic expert told the Associated Press: “This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease.”