PAS D’INFECTION – US Authorities Confirm Absence of Hantavirus Case in the United States
US authorities confirmed on Thursday the absence of hantavirus cases in the United States after new negative tests on a passenger from the “MV Hondius”, while 41 people remain isolated and monitored.
US health authorities announced on Thursday that the American passenger of the cruise ship MV Hondius, initially considered positive for hantavirus, was eventually negative after further examinations in the United States. This reassessment comes as several people remain monitored after the detected infection outbreak on the ship.
Nebraska Medical Center, where the man has been hospitalized since his repatriation, confirmed that the latest results ruled out any contamination. “Both tests, by PCR and serology, are negative,” said Taylor Wilson, the facility’s communication manager. US authorities decided on Wednesday to conduct new tests after initial results were deemed “inconclusive,” with one laboratory detecting a positive result while another concluded a negative test.
Currently no cases in the United States
According to Taylor Wilson, “we only received the results this morning.” The passenger, who showed no symptoms, has since left the biological containment unit where he was placed upon arrival to join the department hosting fifteen other repatriated Americans from the ship. Two other evacuated passengers this weekend are also hospitalized in Atlanta, Georgia.
During an exchange with the press on Thursday, David Fitter, in charge of the hantavirus response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (…)
Read more on 20minutes
Also read:
Hantavirus: Eighteen American passengers, including one positive case, repatriated to the United States
Hantavirus: Why is the management of the epidemic by US authorities already being criticized?
