90-Second Read: Hantavirus latest updates: U.S. citizen tests positive as 17 American passengers airlifted back

Dozens of passengers, including 17 American citizens, were evacuated from the MV Hondius on Sunday after it docked off the coast of Tenerife, one of Spain's Canary Islands. All American citizens are initially being airlifted to a treatment center at the University of Nebraska, the HHS said. The 42-day window allows health officials, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), to identify cases before they become infectious and break the chain of transmission. On Monday, a French passenger tested positive for the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update on Friday that eight people had fallen ill, with six of them confirmed to have contracted the virus and two probable cases.

A dozen countries, including the U.S., are also scrambling to track down and monitor passengers who disembarked on April 24 on the island of St. Health officials in Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia are monitoring residents for potential infections linked to the cruise ship. Unlike most Hantaviruses that only spread from rodents, the Andes virus strain can be transmitted between humans through close, prolonged contact, necessitating stricter quarantine protocols. Three people have died: a Dutch couple and a German national. Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, without contact tracing.

Health officials in Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia are monitoring residents for potential infections. The individual with mild symptoms will be transported to a second facility. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said her condition was deteriorating. This is because symptoms of the virus can develop 1-8 weeks after exposure, with incubation periods varying, according to the American Lung Association.

The WHO has stressed that the risk of a wider outbreak remains "absolutely low".