Eighteen Americans who were evacuated from a ship at the centre of a Hantavirus outbreak are back in the United States of America and being quarantined and monitored at various biocontainment facilities around the country.
The Andes strain of the virus earlier killed three people aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship.
Most of the American evacuees are being held at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska in Omaha while two, including one who is reportedly symptomatic, are being held at a biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Leadership at the Centres for Disease Control has indicated that the risk to the rest of the country remained low. Individuals exposed to the virus are expected to complete an incubation period of 42 days or six weeks.
Health officials are also reportedly monitoring individuals across at least six states including in Arizona, California, Virginia, Texas, Georgia and New Jersey.
–SABC–
