Passengers from hantavirus ship arrive in US; 3 people in biocontainment

"Federal and Nebraska officials corrected the HHS statement, saying that the US has repatriated 18-not 17-people, which includes 17 US citizens and one person who is a dual British/US citizen. The passengers range in age from late 20s to late 70s-early 80s."

"On the flight to Omaha, two were flown in special biocontainment units "out of an abundance of caution." That includes the one person who tested "mildly positive," and a second person who had symptoms. For now, the definition of symptoms is "liberal," including anything as minor as nasal congestion, officials said in the press briefing."

"Of the 18 people, 15 (including the dual citizen) are asymptomatic and in the quarantine unit. The person with the "mildly positive" test is being housed in the Nebraska biocontainment unit. That person is said to be asymptomatic for now. In the press briefing, officials offered only vague answers as to what they meant by "mildly positive." But, they are likely referring to the cycle threshold (Ct value) for the real-time PCR test used to detect snippets of hantavirus genetic material to confirm an infection."

"The remaining two passengers are a couple traveling together, one of whom is the person previously identified as having symptoms. They have been moved to a biocontainment unit together at Emory University in Atlanta. The reason for the move is to ensure that the biocontainment unit in Nebraska-which has a small capacity to isolate hantavir"

Federal and Nebraska officials corrected a prior statement, saying the US repatriated 18 people, including 17 US citizens and one dual British/US citizen. Passengers range from late 20s to late 70s to early 80s. Two people were flown in special biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution, including one with a mildly positive test and another with symptoms. Symptoms were defined broadly, including minor issues such as nasal congestion. Of the 18, 15 are asymptomatic and are in the quarantine unit. The mildly positive person is in the Nebraska biocontainment unit and is asymptomatic for now, with “mildly positive” likely tied to PCR cycle threshold ambiguity. Two remaining passengers, a couple, were moved to a biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta to match capacity constraints.

Read at Ars Technica