US monitoring passengers returning from ship in hantavirus outbreak

Residents in at least three states are being monitored for potential hantavirus infections after traveling on a luxury cruise ship that was hit with a deadly outbreak, public health officials said.

Public health agencies in Georgia, Arizona and California are monitoring residents who were aboard the MV Hondius cruise but have since returned to their homes. None of the people being monitored have shown signs of illness, health officials told USA TODAY.

The Georgia Department of Public Health is monitoring two residents, the agency said in a statement on May 6. The Arizona Department of Health Services confirmed that it had been notified about one resident who had been on the MV Hondius, a cruise ship operated by Netherlands-based operator Oceanwide Expeditions.

The California Department of Public Health said it was alerted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that state residents were also on board the ship. The agency but did not disclose how many people were being monitored in California.

"We are coordinating with local health officials, as needed, to monitor returning travelers. There is no information that the California residents are ill or infected," the California health department said in a statement May 7. "In order to protect patient privacy, CDPH cannot disclose the travelers’ residences or other information. At this time, the risk to public health in California is low."

Earlier on May 6, the World Health Organization said an eighth hantavirus-linked case was identified among passengers who were aboard the cruise ship. Three of the cases were confirmed by laboratory testing.

The ship, which had nearly 150 people on board, departed from Argentina on April 1 and made multiple stops across the Atlantic Ocean. Since its departure, three people — a Dutch couple and a German national — have died in the outbreak, according to health officials. Three others were evacuated from the ship on May 6.

Hantavirus typically spreads through contact the urine, feces or saliva of infected rodents and human-to-human transmission is uncommon.

In a statement on May 6, the CDC said the "administration is closely monitoring the situation with U.S. travelers onboard the M/V Hondius cruise ship with confirmed hantavirus."

"At this time, the risk to the American public is extremely low," the CDC said in the statement. "We urge all Americans aboard the ship to follow the guidance of health officials as we work to bring you home safely."

The ship is expected to dock in Spain's Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, within three days, the country's Health Minister Monica Garcia said, adding that those still on board were not presenting any symptoms of the disease. Once in Tenerife, if they are still healthy, all non-Spanish citizens will be repatriated to their countries, according to Garcia.

The 14 Spanish passengers will be quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid, Garcia said. The duration of the quarantine will depend on when they potentially had contact with the virus, she said, adding that it has a 45-day incubation period.

Contributing: Melina Khan, Eve Chen and Nathan Diller, USA TODAY; Reuters