90-Second Read: Two more passengers from Hantavirus cruise arrive at Emory in Atlanta

A total of 17 Americans who were passengers on the MV Hondius, the center of a deadly Hantavirus outbreak, have been transferred back to the United States and will be quarantined, health officials say. Two of the passengers, however, were transported to Emory University in Atlanta for "further assessment" after one became symptomatic. The World Health Organization reported the total number of Hantavirus cases related to the ship outbreak that had been confirmed rose to nine, as of Monday afternoon. Two passengers who disembarked the cruise ship with other Americans in the Canary Islands were transferred to the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit at Emory University on Monday. The plane just landed recently in Atlanta, and the passengers were taken to Emory.

Health officials did not release where these two passengers were from in the state, or how long they will be monitored by the CDC. Hantavirus, however, only spreads from one person to another in rare cases, and in extended personal contact. There is no reason to believe at this time that having ship passengers in Georgia would cause an outbreak in the state. The transfer brings the total number of passengers now in Georgia to four. In a video shared by Fox5, one passenger is seen stepping out of a Grady Hospital ambulance wearing personal protective equipment outside Emory.

But because of their situation on the ship, they were traveling together to Emory," Department of Health and Human Services official Matthew Ferreira told USA TODAY around noon on Monday. Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that are typically spread by rats and mice when people are exposed to their urine, feces and saliva. In the western hemisphere the Hantavirus typically causes Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a potentially deadly infection. International health officials say while the infections can be extreme, it is unlikely that Hantavirus will spread worldwide to become a pandemic like COVID-19. Other American passengers disembarked from the MV Hondius last week when it was docked off the coast of Cape Verde, an island nation off the northwestern coast of Africa.

The two individuals are a couple who were traveling together on the cruise, but officials did not share whether the couple was originally from Georgia. One symptomatic individual is receiving care in Emory's biocontainment unit, and one asymptomatic individual, identified as a close contact, is undergoing evaluation and monitoring," Emory University confirmed to USA TODAY. This included residents of Arizona, California and Georgia, health officials said. None of the passengers who were released in Cape Verde have shown signs of symptoms, and they are still being monitored, officials told USA TODAY last week. Two of the passengers are residents of Georgia, and returned home with the others.