90-Second Read: Hantavirus monitoring ends in Atlanta as Emory University Hospital releases patients

Two Georgia passengers being monitored after a cruise ship Hantavirus outbreak have been discharged from Emory University Hospital. Emory University Hospital operates as one of 13 federally supported Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Centers equipped to manage high-consequence infectious diseases. The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a press release by Emory University Hospital Media Relations Director Jen Phillips, as well as previous tracking data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

A Georgia couple was moved Monday into Emory University Hospital's Serious Communicable Diseases Unit after returning from a cruise on the MV Hondius. The outbreak began in April aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondiu s during a voyage from Argentina. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization confirmed that 11 cases are linked to the ship, which resulted in three deaths.

Genetic testing identified the Andes variant of Hantavirus, a rare strain capable of causing severe respiratory illness and spreading through human-to-human transmission. Federal and state health departments are tracking 18 Americans who were aboard the cruise vessel. One passenger exhibited mild symptoms of the virus but repeatedly tested negative.