Passengers on hantavirus-hit cruise ship moved from Emory to Nebraska hospital
Two people from the MV Hondius cruise ship who have been under observation at Emory University Hospital for days are now reunited with other passengers in Nebraska.
The two individuals, described by officials only as a couple, were taken to Emory via ambulance from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday after authorities said one of them showed mild symptoms that could have been connected with the virus.
The day after they arrived at the Atlanta hospital, officials said the symptomatic passenger "tested negative for the Andes variant of hantavirus."
On Friday, the University of Nebraska's Medical Center announced that the two passengers were transported to its National Quarantine Unit, joining 16 others who were evacuated from the cruise ship. Apart from the one patient who had been at Emory, all of the passengers have been asymptomatic so far.
The quarantine and biocontainment units in Omaha are specialized facilities created to monitor people exposed to serious illnesses. The biocontainment unit is used for treating people who are ill with highly infectious diseases.
"The NQU team, in collaboration with public health partners, continues to monitor and assess those former passengers," the hospital said in a statement.
Public health officials have said the risk of the virus spreading from passengers into the general public is very low and that healthy people are being quarantined as a precaution.
It is likely that all the patients will remain in quarantine, either in their homes or at other facilities, for weeks to see if symptoms show.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.