American passengers on MV Hondius will be flown to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, NE

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (WTOC) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement on Friday, May 8, in response to the Hantavirus outbreak.

According to the CDC, the risk to the American public at this time remains extremely low.

A Brunswick-area woman may be one of two Georgians being monitored for hantavirus after being on a cruise ship at the center of an outbreak. The woman was on board the MV Hondius around the time of the outbreak, which has killed three people as of Friday night.

American passengers of the MV Hondius are planned to be evacuated on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. They will then be transported to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Experts at the University of Nebraska Medical Center held a press conference on Friday, explaining their level of readiness and shared more information about the situation on the ship, according to KOLN, WTOC’s sister station in Lincoln, NE.

They said 17 people from the ship will stay at the quarantine unit at UNMC. The passengers are all healthy and asymptomatic. Dr. Dele Davies, interim UNMC chancellor, said they are ready to help and monitor those coming here.

The statement from the CDC continued to say that they have developed health guidance for the American-impacted passengers.

“CDC’s premier infectious disease experts are continuing to work closely with international partners to develop consistent monitoring guidance. This guidance will be distributed [Friday] in addition to resources targeted for state and local health departments,” they wrote.

“The CDC deployed a team of epidemiologists and medical professionals to the Canary Islands, where the M/V Hondius is expected to dock. The team will conduct an exposure risk assessment for each American passenger and provide recommendations for the level of monitoring required. An additional CDC team will deploy to Offutt AFB to support public health assessment of returning passengers,” it continued.