18 Americans evacuated from cruise ship after hantavirus outbreak

Medical officials in the US state of Nebraska said on Monday that 18 Americans were safely evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius following a hantavirus outbreak aboard the vessel.

John Knox, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, said that the overnight operation involved coordination between several federal agencies and state officials.

"As all of you are aware, last night, with the coordination of multiple federal agencies, and in partnership with state officials, HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) supported the Department of State in a safe repatriation of 18 US citizens from the MV Hondius," Knox said at a news briefing.

Knox said over the next several days, passengers will undergo an initial health assessment.

Officials later clarified that 16 of the evacuees were transported to the state of Nebraska, while two others were taken to Atlanta, Georgia. One passenger was identified as a British-US dual national who chose to return to the US.

'The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily'

Brendan Jackson, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said hantavirus is well known to public health experts despite growing public attention surrounding the outbreak.

“I want to emphasize this is not a brand new virus,” Jackson said. “This is a virus that has been known for decades now ... this is not the first time we've had hantavirus in the United States before."

Jackson added that current evidence suggests person-to-person spread occurs primarily when infected individuals are symptomatic.

Admiral Brian Christine, assistant secretary for health and head of the US Public Health Service, said the threat to the general public posed by the hantavirus remains minimal.

"Let me be crystal clear, the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low," Christine said.

"The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily, and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic," he added.

Christine underlined that federal health officials were taking the situation "very seriously."