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All of the American cruise passengers possibly exposed to hantavirus have returned to U.S. soil, and most are now in a quarantine center enjoying hotel-style comforts while waiting to see if they come down with the deadly disease.
And they could be there for a while — the current World Health Organization recommendation is for 42 days of quarantine for anyone possibly exposed to hantavirus, which kills up to 40% of infected patients.
So far, nobody’s sure when they will be discharged.
“That will be up to CDC to do a risk assessment and decide what’s most appropriate to protect public health,” Dr. Ali Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told The Post.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the patients can check themselves out after the initial screening — so long as they agree to submit to health monitoring when they return home.
At least one American tested positive for the virus that killed three passengers and infected several others on the HV Hondius during its Atlantic voyage; that passenger, plus another American showing symptoms, are being treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
The rest are in the National Quarantine Unit in at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where they spend their days under observation with spacious rooms, movies, a gym, and other amenities.
“It’s a lovely setup that allows them access to their family members and loved ones,” Khan said.
“A few years ago, when we did this for COVID, someone even figured out how to get food delivered,” he added.
None of the 15 quarantined passengers in Nebraska have tested positive or are showing symptoms, Khan said.
As for the patients’ spirits: “They’re just glad to be off that ship and back in America.”
Hantavirus, which normally spreads via rodent feces, can take up to eight weeks for symptoms to appear. These can include fever, fatigue, headaches, chills, vomiting and diarrhea before the virus fully attacks the lungs and slowly suffocates its victim.
The wife of the Dutch couple believed to have contracted the virus while bird watching early last month had left the ship and taken a commercial flight before she succumbed to the disease.
Her husband got sick on board the ship and spread the virus to the ship’s doctor, who is recovering.
At least 23 passengers left the ship after the outbreak began, including two Americans who returned to Texas and one to Virginia.
Public health officials are conducting contact tracing on anyone they may have come in contact with, but the virus requires close, prolonged contact to spread.
Thus, it probably won’t grow into another COVID-level pandemic, Khan said.
“It requires large saliva droplets from talking to people, close person-to-person spread. … We’re probably looking at more than a ‘Hello, how are you?’” he said.
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