Why cruise ship passengers with possible hantavirus exposure went to Nebraska

"Sixteen of the 18 passengers transferred to the U.S. from a cruise ship where there was an outbreak of hantavirus arrived in Omaha, Neb., on Monday for evaluation after disembarking the vessel in Spain's Canary Islands over the weekend. Of the 15 U.S. citizens and one dual U.S.-British citizen who arrived in Nebraska, all but one are currently being housed in the National Quarantine Unit. That patient tested positive for the virus and was being housed in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, officials said at a Monday news conference."

"The 15 people in the quarantine unit will continue to be monitored for signs of the illness. Nebraska may seem an unlikely location to process these individuals, but it is home to the National Quarantine Unit the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S. and the separate Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. They are highly specialized facilities located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and widely considered among the best in the world."

"The $1 million, five-room biocontainment unit was dedicated in 2005. It was a joint project with Nebraska Health and Human Services and the UNMC. It is set up to safely provide medical care for patients with highly hazardous and infectious diseases and was used in 2014 to treat two doctors infected with Ebola. The National Quarantine Unit was completed in late 2019. It cost nearly $20 million, according to the Associated Press."

"Both facilities were used during the COVID-19 epidemic. "We are prepared for situations exactly like this," Dr. Michael Ash, CEO of Nebraska Medicine, said in a statement. "Our teams have trained for decades alongside federal and state partners to make sure we can safely provide care while protecting our staff and the broader community. We are proud to support this national effort." Two additional U.S. passengers on the cruise ship a couple, with one showing symptoms of hantavirus were transferred for monitoring to Emory University Hospital,"

Sixteen of eighteen passengers transferred to the U.S. arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, for evaluation after disembarking in Spain’s Canary Islands. Fifteen U.S. citizens and one dual U.S.-British citizen were housed in the National Quarantine Unit, except one patient who tested positive for hantavirus and was placed in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. The remaining fifteen people will continue to be monitored for signs of illness. Nebraska hosts the only federally funded quarantine unit in the U.S. and a separate biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The five-room biocontainment unit was dedicated in 2005 and has been used for Ebola care. The National Quarantine Unit was completed in late 2019 and both facilities were used during COVID-19. Two additional U.S. passengers were transferred to Emory University Hospital for monitoring.

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