Global health authorities are working to contain an outbreak of hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
The total number of confirmed cases associated with the outbreak is increasing, health officials said. To date, three people who were aboard the ship are known to have died of the virus.
More than 100 passengers remain on the ship, and the World Health Organization is monitoring their health. Officials said that the "overall public health risk remains low" but that there may be some person-to-person spread.
Health officials in multiple states say they're monitoring some passengers who have returned to the U.S. after being aboard the ship for potential hantavirus infections.
Latest Developments
May 8, 6:50 PM
CDC deploys team to Canary Islands
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it deployed a team earlier Friday to the Canary Islands, where the M/V Hondius is expected to dock in the coming days.
"The team will conduct an exposure risk assessment for each American passenger and provide recommendations for the level of monitoring required," the CDC said in a statement.
The American passengers will be evacuated on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Nebraska and transported to a quarantine center at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, the CDC said.
Another CDC team will deploy to Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska, to "support public health assessment of returning passengers," the agency said.
May 8, 4:54 PM
Situation on board ship is 'calm': Cruise company
Oceanwide Expeditions provided an update about the 87 guests and 60 crew member aboard the M/V Hondius Friday and said the situation on board "remains calm," as it heads to the Canary Islands.
The boat is scheduled to arrive early Sunday, but that timetable is subject to change, according to Oceanwide.
"Preparations regarding our point of arrival, quarantine and screening procedures for all guests, and the onward travel plans for all guests and affected crew are being led by organizations from a number of countries, including the WHO, RIVM, and Dutch authorities, in close cooperation with Spanish government authorities," Oceanwide said in a statement.
The cruise company provided a breakdown of the ship's passengers and crew and revealed there are 17 Americans aboard the ship.
-ABC News' Claire Bower
May 8, 4:22 PM
What to know about Nebraska quarantine unit set to receive Americans from hantavirus-stricken ship
Several American passengers from the cruise ship associated with a suspected hantavirus cluster are set to arrive at a quarantine unit in Nebraska over the next few days. Here's what to know about the facility.
The National Quarantine Unit, managed by Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S.
Its 20 single-occupancy rooms with en-suite bathrooms contain individual negative air pressure systems to safely house individuals exposed to highly hazardous communicable diseases, according to Nebraska Medicine and UNMC.
The rooms also contain exercise equipment and WiFi connectivity for patients requiring longer stays.
Nebraska Medicine and UNMC also manage the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit (NBU), which provides medical care to patients with highly hazardous communicable diseases.
“Unit personnel consists of a voluntary staff of select physicians, nursing, nursing assistants and respiratory therapists specially trained in high-level isolation and bio preparedness,” Nebraska Medicine and UNMC said on its website.
The NBU was activated in 2014 to care for U.S. citizens affected by the Ebola outbreak and medically evacuated from Africa and during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to care for U.S. citizens from Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess Cruise ship.
May 8, 2:05 PM
Nebraska quarantine unit says it's 'staffed and ready' to receive American passengers
The University of Nebraska, which hosts the quarantine facility the American cruise ship passengers are set to travel to, said Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are coordinating with partners to receive the U.S. citizens.
The university said the National Quarantine Unit is the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S.
"We are prepared for situations exactly like this," Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, said in a statement. "Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to make sure we can safely provide care while protecting our staff and the broader community. We are proud to support this national effort."
Nebraska Medical Center also houses the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, a highly specialized facility meant to care for patients with "high-consequence infectious diseases," the university said.
Nebraska Medicine and UNMC treated patients during the 2014 Ebola outbreak and cared for some of the first Americans diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020.
"We understand situations like this can raise questions," Ash said. "People should know these facilities were specifically designed to prevent exposure to the public. There is no risk to the community from people being cared for in these units."
In a statement released earlier on Thursday, the University of Nebraska said both units "are staffed and ready, if needed, to safely provide care while protecting our staff and the community."
-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
May 8, 1:39 PM
WHO working to coordinate screening process for crew, passengersAnais Legand, the technical officer with the World Health Organization, briefed the press Friday about the organization's efforts to screen the M/V Hondius' crew and passengers after the ship arrives in the Canary Islands.
Health teams will work with national authorities and each boat member will be assessed by trained medical staff, he said.
Epidemiologists will review individual exposure histories and interactions, according to Legand.
"So this is a way for us to get all the pieces together and have the maximum information to be able to assess any risk for this person and give them the right recommendation," he said.
-ABC News' Othon Leyva
May 8, 1:14 PM
CDC personnel to meet Americans on hantavirus-stricken ship
An official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to ABC News that the agency will be dispatching personnel to the Canary Islands, where the M/V Hondius -- the cruise ship at the center of a suspected hantavirus cluster -- is scheduled to arrive on Sunday.
Teams will then escort those Americans to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska.
-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
May 8, 12:18 PM
Which states are monitoring potential hantavirus
No U.S. residents have experienced any signs of illness as of Friday morning, according to health officials. However, six states are tracking nine residents for possible hantavirus infections.
Health officials in Texas, New Jersey and Georgia are monitoring two people while officials in California, Virginia and Arizona say they each are monitoring one person.
May 8, 12:14 PM
2 New Jersey residents being monitored for hantavirus
Two New Jersey residents -- who were not passengers on the cruise ship M/V Hondius -- are being monitored for possible hantavirus infections.
The state's health department was notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the residents were potentially exposed to an infected cruise ship passenger during a flight. Neither individual is reporting symptoms.
This brings the total of U.S. residents under monitoring to at least nine across six states. None have shown any signs of illness at this time.
-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
May 8, 12:08 PM
State Dept says it will arrange repatriation flight for Americans on shipThe State Department said Friday that it is in "direct communication with Americans on board" the Dutch cruise ship impacted by the hantavirus outbreak and "prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain."
The department added that it is arranging a repatriation flight to support the return of those American passengers.
The department said it was working in coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Spanish government to plan for the transport of those passengers.
Additionally, the department said it is still "closely tracking the hantavirus outbreak" on the MV Hondius and remains in "close contact" with the cruise ship staff and international health authorities.
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston
May 8, 10:05 AM
New hantavirus case reported in Spain
A woman in the Spanish province of Alicante has tested positive for a hantavirus infection, secretary of state for health, Javier Padilla, told reporters on Friday, according to Reuters.
The unidentified patient was a passenger on the same flight as the woman who died in South Africa after leaving the ship, according to Padilla.
-ABC News' Zoe Magee
