Experts in Chicago weigh in as passengers disembark from hantavirus-hit ship
Over a dozen Americans are now in Nebraska on Sunday after being flown there by the Centers for Disease Control from Spain, where they got off a cruise ship that was hit by the deadly hantavirus outbreak.
The CDC sent a team of epidemiologists and medical professionals to the Canary Islands, where the MV Hondius cruise ship finally docked after more than a month. The 17 Americans who were on board are now at the University of Nebraska for observation and quarantine.
The World Health Organization says none of the 147 people on board are experiencing any symptoms of hantavirus. So far, there are nine confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus stemming from the cruise. A Dutch couple and another woman died from the virus.
The Dutch couple spent months traveling around South America in areas known to carry the Andes strain of the virus, which is the only strain transmissible from human to human.
A mammologist and researcher from DePaul University said he's not surprised this is happening.
"We're seeing the change of natural habitat into smaller forest patches. As that happens, the animals that are left in these smaller forest remnants tend to be more stressed out. If you're more stressed out, they're more immune suppressed. That means that they're more susceptible to more pathogens," said Noé de la Sancha.
He says hantavirus is a group of viruses, and most are host-specific. He adds that different species could also be carrying them.
"Usually, these are rodent-borne diseases. However, there's been evidence of species like different types of shrews, bats, and also South American possums that have been shown to have or to be host for these viruses," he said.
On Saturday, a travel influencer onboard the ship posted a video on social media as the ship was on its way to dock in the Canary Islands after Spain agreed to take the ship in. He said the situation onboard was calm and that the cleanliness procedures on the ship are very strict.
The seventeen Americans on board were taken to the University of Nebraska. Once they finish quarantine, they'll return home. They will be monitored for an additional 42 days.
Infectious disease physician at Saint Anthony Hospital, Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora, says while the symptoms of hantavirus may be similar to those of coronavirus, it's also a virus experts say they know a lot about compared to COVID when it first hit.
"This condition is certainly though the images and the terminology can bring us back to the COVID era. This is quite different," he said. "What I suspect will happen now is for the folks in containment, we will further assess what their exposures were, specifically, contact tracing will help us determine whether these individuals need to isolate a little bit longer or not."
Medical experts here in Chicago said while they don't expect to see hantavirus pop up in the city, if those chances increase, screening questions at airports could be in the future, along with other safety protocols similar to COVID times.
One of the five French passengers who was taken off the ship started showing symptoms while flying home. They are now all under strict isolation.
More passengers from the ship will disembark on Monday.