90-Second Read: U.S. cruise passengers head to Nebraska for Hantavirus monitoring

That brings the case count for the Hantavirus outbreak to at least nine, including three deaths, according to the World Health Organization on Monday. Most of the passengers are arriving at America's only federally funded quarantine unit, which also received cruise passengers from a different outbreak, the Diamond Princess Cruise, in early 2020, which was one of the first known superspreading events of the COVID-19 pandemic. They suggested that some passengers could continue monitoring at home, with daily check-ins from their health departments. The Dutch-flagged cruise ship departed from southern Argentina on April 1, and followed an itinerary across the South Atlantic with multiple stops in remote islands.

Also on Monday, a French woman tested positive for Hantavirus, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said. After landing at the Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, most passengers headed to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for an initial evaluation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unlike COVID, which was a novel pathogenic strain when it emerged, scientists have been studying Hantaviruses, and specifically the Andes variant which caused this outbreak, for decades. But symptoms can take up to 42 days after exposure to show up, according to the CDC.

A French woman has also tested positive, she was was among five French passengers repatriated to Paris. Ali Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at UNMC. The returning Americans had been isolating in their cruise cabins. It tends to take prolonged, close contact with someone who's showing symptoms, U.S health officials say.

Better late than never, but it is very late." In response to a request for comment from NPR, Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services: "These claims are completely inaccurate. But health officials got lucky this time: the Andes virus is not very contagious, and health officials say this outbreak will likely be contained.