US citizens quarantined after MV Hondius hantavirus exposure VIDEO

Health officials in Maryland, US, are monitoring two residents who were on an overseas flight with a passenger from the MV Hondius who later tested positive for hantavirus, the Maryland Department of Health said.

Authorities stressed that the monitoring is being conducted “out of an abundance of caution” and emphasized that the risk to the public remains very low, ABC News reports.

“No hantavirus cases have been identified in Maryland since 2019. Andes virus infections have never been reported in Maryland,” the Maryland Health Department said.

A separate flight carrying US citizens who had been aboard the cruise ship arrived on May 11 in Nebraska, officials said.

Passengers from the MV Hondius disembarked earlier in Tenerife, where they were transferred to charter flights returning them to their home countries.

Health authorities said the total number of confirmed and probable hantavirus cases linked to the vessel has risen to 11, including two confirmed deaths and one additional suspected fatality.

On May 11, some 16 American passengers from the cruise ship arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Officials said 15 of them are being held in the quarantine unit, while one patient who tested positive has been placed in a biocontainment unit.

Two other American passengers were flown to Atlanta for “further assessment and care,” according to officials.

Public health agencies continue to monitor the situation closely as investigations into the outbreak remain ongoing.

By Vafa Guliyeva