90-Second Read: Oncologist Who Cared for Hantavirus Patients on Ship Leaves Medical Isolation Unit

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that a total of 11 Hantavirus cases linked to the cruise have been reported worldwide, including three deaths. Health authorities say it is the first Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. Public health officials say the risk to the general public from the cruise ship outbreak is low. Stephen Kornfeld, MD, of Bend, Oregon, was among more than 120 passengers and crew evacuated from the ship and flown to different countries to enter quarantine.

While there is no cure or vaccine for Hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates. Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people, though the Andes virus detected on the Hondius may be able to spread between people in rare cases. The WHO is recommending that passengers and crew from the cruise ship stay in quarantine, either at home or other facilities, for 42 days.

On Wednesday, the hospital announced that Kornfeld will now join the 15 other Americans who were taken for monitoring at the National Quarantine Unit, instead of the biocontainment unit, according to hospital spokesperson Kayla Thomas. Kornfeld said a nasal swab he took on the ship was later tested twice in the Netherlands. In addition to the passengers taken to Nebraska, two other Americans are being monitored at the serious communicable disease unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Kornfeld described his quarters at the biocontainment unit in Nebraska as a hospital room with a comfortable bed.