Emory monitors 2 cruise passengers linked to hantavirus outbreak

Two people linked to the hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius were being transported to Emory University’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit in Atlanta, Georgia officials said on May 11.

The Georgia Department of Public Health said the two individuals had disembarked the ship and were being moved for monitoring. Reuters reported that the two were being monitored at U.S. medical facilities, with one of the Atlanta patients experiencing symptoms. Neither report confirmed a hantavirus diagnosis for the Atlanta pair.

The development comes as health authorities continue tracing contacts and monitoring exposed passengers across several countries after the outbreak was first flagged by the CDC on May 6 and updated by the World Health Organization on May 8.

CDC said it was closely monitoring U.S. travelers aboard the ship and said the risk to the American public was extremely low. WHO said the outbreak involved the Andes strain of hantavirus and also assessed the wider global risk as low.

What officials have said

Georgia officials said the two people were being transported to Emory’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit. Reuters said 18 passengers had been flown back to the United States, with 16 monitored in Nebraska and two in Atlanta.

The available reporting does not say whether either of the Atlanta patients later tested positive. The current public-health response remains focused on monitoring, quarantine and follow-up checks for exposed travelers.

Why the case is being watched

Hantavirus infections are uncommon, but officials are paying close attention because the ship cluster spans multiple countries and involves a strain that can spread person to person only rarely, through close and prolonged contact.

For now, WHO and CDC have both said the overall risk remains low, even as the investigation continues and more exposed travelers are followed.