US Repatriation Flight Yields Hantavirus Case as Global Quarantine Measures Diverge
While the US Department of Health and Human Services moves 17 citizens to Nebraska for screening, French and Spanish authorities tighten quarantine protocols following deaths on the MV Hondius
An American national travelling on a government-chartered repatriation flight from the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested positive for hantavirus, prompting further clinical assessment of the entire group. The US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that all 17 US citizens on the flight travelled in biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution before arriving at a medical facility in Nebraska. A second passenger on the same flight is exhibiting mild symptoms, while the rest undergo screening to rule out infection.
This development follows a deadly outbreak aboard the vessel, which is currently docked in the Canary Islands, Spain. The crisis has already claimed three lives, including a Dutch couple and a German woman. While the US approach focuses on immediate screening and biocontainment, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended a 42-day isolation period for those leaving the ship, a guideline that US officials have not fully adopted.
US acting CDC head Dr Jay Bhattacharya has defended the shorter isolation window, arguing that human-to-human transmission is rare and that treating the situation like the Covid-19 pandemic would cause unnecessary public panic. However, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that the US decision not to follow the organisation's guidelines may carry risks, highlighting a significant divergence in public health strategy between Washington and Geneva.
The repatriation effort has extended beyond American citizens, with other nationals facing mandatory quarantine in their home countries. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist confirmed that a French national evacuated to Paris has tested positive and is showing deteriorating health, with authorities tracing 22 contact cases. In Spain, 14 citizens flown to Madrid face mandatory quarantine at a military hospital, while British nationals have been taken to a hospital in Wirral for a 72-hour isolation period.
Medical experts note that while hantaviruses are typically carried by rodents, the Andes strain contracted by passengers in South America can transmit between humans. Symptoms range from fever and extreme fatigue to shortness of breath, necessitating the strict biocontainment measures employed on the flight. The vessel remains docked in Tenerife as further evacuation flights are scheduled to transport remaining passengers, including Dutch nationals returning to the Netherlands and Australia.
