By Chris Boyette, CNN
(CNN) — As passengers of the cruise ship at the center of the hantavirus outbreak disembark in Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands, Americans who were onboard will be assessed, transferred to an airport and brought back to the United States — with a first stop in Nebraska, home of the highly specialized National Quarantine Unit.
The virus, typically associated with rodents, may have passed from human to human aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, according to the World Health Organization. Since April 11, three people from the ship have died while a handful of others are sick.
This is everything we know about how the American passengers will get back to the United States and what will happen once they’re home.
Assessment in the Canary Islands
The 17 US passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship will be evaluated by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff after disembarking in Tenerife, according to a CDC official. The CDC will conduct a risk assessment on each American passenger.
None of the US passengers is experiencing symptoms so far.
One source familiar with the matter told CNN the Americans will be brought back to the US aboard a charter aircraft with a biocontainment unit, similar to those used during Covid-19 evacuations.
Another stop in Omaha
Once back in the US, the passengers will be brought for further assessment to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
The facility is “the only federally funded quarantine unit in the United States, designed specifically to safely house and monitor people who may have been exposed to high-consequence infectious diseases,” according to Nebraska Medicine.
There are 20 single-person, 300-square-foot rooms fitted with negative air pressure systems to contain any possible viruses. Doctors there describe them like hotel rooms, designed with en-suite bathrooms, exercise equipment, food delivery and Wi-Fi for patients staying for long periods.
But, a CDC official said the agency is not considering this a quarantine for the cruise ship passengers, but a brief visit to monitor their health.
The passengers will not be tested for hantavirus, as testing is not recommended for those without symptoms, according to a CDC official.
If anyone does fall ill, they could be transferred to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which is a specialized unit on-site that has previously treated patients during the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and some of the first Covid-19 patients from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in 2020, according to Nebraska Medicine officials.
The passengers will be given the option to go home after their assessment in Omaha if safety protocols allow, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.
Bhattacharya, who is also acting director of the CDC, said the agency will interview the passengers to determine their risk. They will be deemed “low risk” if they were not in contact with someone who was symptomatic.
Bhattacharya said the CDC’s advice to the travelers would include “an offer to stay in Nebraska if they’d like, or if they want to go back home and their home situation allows it, to safely drive them home without exposing other people on the way, and then be put in the control … under the auspices of their state and local public health agencies.”
Daily monitoring at home