Inside the Hantavirus Isolation Unit Where 15 Americans Wait

"They arrived around 2:30 in the morning on Monday, their government plane stopping on the pavement at the Omaha airport. One by one, they shuffled out, wearing masks and carrying plastic bags holding a small set of their belongings. They were quickly assessed by a team of doctors, loaded onto shuttle buses with adequate distance kept between them and driven to the National Quarantine Unit, the only federal center of its kind in the country."

"For 15 of the 18 American arrivals who had been on the cruise ship MV Hondius and were possibly exposed to the hantavirus a pathogen that can be deadly and for which there is no widely available vaccine this was now their home, at least for a while. Three of the roughly 150 passengers from various countries on their ship, which departed Argentina in April with a destination of the Canary Islands, died from the virus, and several others became ill or tested positive, officials said."

"They were really pleasant, in good spirits and grateful to be home, he said. But he also said, They were very tired. Dr. Michael Wadman, the medical director of the National Quarantine Unit, was one of the doctors who greeted the Americans at the airport. Dr. Michael Wadman, the medical director of the National Quarantine Unit, said the American passengers who arrived on Monday were tired but in good spirits."

A government plane landed at Omaha around 2:30 a.m. Monday with 18 American passengers returning from the cruise ship MV Hondius. The arrivals wore masks, carried plastic bags with belongings, and were quickly assessed by doctors. They were loaded onto shuttle buses with distance maintained and taken to the National Quarantine Unit, the only federal quarantine center of its kind in the country. Fifteen of the 18 Americans were possibly exposed to hantavirus, a deadly pathogen with no widely available vaccine, and stayed at the facility for quarantine. Three passengers from the roughly 150 on the ship died from the virus, and others became ill or tested positive. The medical director said the arrivals were tired but in good spirits and grateful to be home.

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