Hantavirus News LIVE | WHO Makes A SHOKCING STATEMENT on Hantavirus | Hantavirus Cruise Ship | N18G

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:00]still have to be monitoring, but will they have to quarantine away from their families, basically hold up in a room?

[00:00:06]Uh because I know that the transmission according to Melissa Bell, she was saying it can be person to person, but you have to be very close, much more so than CO. What more can you tell us about that?

[00:00:16]>> Again, it's a great question. So, we're dealing with a lot of unknowns here, right? What we know about this particular hunter virus, which is the Andes virus, is that there have been documented cases of humanto human transmission. And when those were documented and observed, those happened when the infected person had symptoms.

[00:00:35]So that's the supposition that we're making. But we really don't know whether transmission can occur before those symptoms happen. I think to be absolutely safe. If I were going home from this cruise and I had had a significant exposure, I probably would not have sustained close contact with my family members. That means sleeping with someone, kissing someone, that sort of thing. Could you eat at a table with someone? We don't really know. It's probably safe, but again, every time we say that advice, we're really making suppositions that we don't have the data for yet.

[00:01:10]>> And it seems like still there is some sort of risk involved. I'm curious though, why is the monitoring period for antivirus so long, nearly six weeks?

[00:01:20]>> Yeah, that is a great question. Again, it's because the that incubation period that I mentioned has been documented to be as long as actually seven weeks.

[00:01:30]Okay? So, you can get infected and be perfectly fine for up to seven weeks.

[00:01:38]When you look at the outbreaks that have happened, most of the cases about half of the cases have happened within the first few weeks, but there are significant number that have happened presented with symptoms I should say after 24 days. So that's why people are nervous about this then and it's also a feature of many viral infections, right?

[00:02:01]You get infected and and more so nonrespiratory viral infections, right?

[00:02:06]you get infected with a virus, for example, let's just say mono or a herpes virus, you may not show symptoms for several weeks. So, that's exactly what we're dealing with here.

[00:02:17]>> Passengers are disembarking that cruise ship at the center of a deadly hunter virus outbreak. And we've just learned that a French passenger showed symptoms of the virus on the flight home to France. That flight took off earlier today after the vessel anchored near the Canary Islands and 117 passengers and crew began disembarking. Since the outbreak began, three passengers have died. Multiple others were sickened and evacuated after contracting the virus, which is typically spread by rats.

[00:02:49]Rodents, we were told, no one on the ship had been suffering any symptoms of the deadly virus. The 17 Americans on board will be met by a team from the CDC and then flown to a quarantine facility in Nebraska to be checked out and then will be monitored at home by the CDC.

[00:03:09]That agency is also keeping tabs on the seven other Americans who landed in the US two weeks ago.

[00:03:16]We've got a team of correspondents and experts covering these developments.

[00:03:20]Raphael Romo is at the CDC in Atlanta.

[00:03:23]Let's begin with Melissa Bell in the Canary Islands where the ship has now anchored. Melissa, what more do we know about the status of this French passenger showing symptoms and the operation overall to repatriate the other passengers?

[00:03:40]All we've seen ever since about 8 a.m.

[00:03:42]local time over the course of the last few hours is this steady stream of passengers being taken off Frederica five at a time. This little boat takes them from the ship itself onto the shore here through a tent onto a bus and then onto the plane that waits for all of the nationals from a particular country to be on that flight before heading off.

[00:04:02]And so it began with Spaniards. They were the first off this morning. There was the Dutch that came off. Then the French. What's significant about what we've just learned from the French prime minister is that uh we were speaking earlier to an epidemiologist from the World Health Organization. What they've been seeing as a result of the study of these particular cases on this ship is that they it appears that uh this is a virus that is transmitted once someone is symptomatic. It doesn't appear to have been transmitted by people who are asymptomatic. So once you've got symptoms and you are at close proximity, that is when you're likely to transmit this virus. So the fact that this French passenger started uh demonstrating feeling these symptoms when he was on that flight back to Paris is uh hugely significant and extremely worrying.

[00:04:47]Clearly he is at least part of a group that was being very closely monitored as all of these high-risk cases as are being called by the World Health Organization that are coming off this ship have been categorized. Now, what we understand, Frederica, is that the very next batch of passengers to come off that ship will be uh the Americans. It's been uh quite a steady stream of people that's been coming off the ship, but there are after all 23 nationalities.

[00:05:12]The last will be the Australians, we understand tomorrow. But in a few moments, we expect the Americans to come off of the ship. We understand that that bio containment plane, the kind that was used during CO times, is on standby at Tenneref airport and ready to fly them back to Omaha, Nebraska. Frederica.

[00:05:30]>> All right, Melissa Bell, we'll check back with you. Thank you so much. And now to the CDC in Atlanta. Let's go to Raphael Romo. Raphael, walk us through what we know about the CDC plans for these Americans, how they'll be observed, monitored, etc., especially after they arrive in Nebraska.

[00:05:49]Well, Fria, initially it appeared that US health officials were considering a quarantine for all 17 Americans who were on the cruise ship at the center of the outbreak. But that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Dr. Jay Batakaria, who's currently also serving as acting director of this institution behind me, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN earlier today that those passengers returning to the United States will be given several options, including returning home. According to the acting city director, those options include staying in Nebraska, where the National Quarantine Unit, which is a federally funded facility, is located.

[00:06:31]Another option, Fred, according to Batakaria, is allowing the passengers to quote safely drive home without exposing other people on the way. Those people would be monitored by their state and local public officials and agencies. One point that the acting CDC director seemed eager to emphasize is that even though the memory of CO is fresh in people's memories, it would be wrong, he said, to assume we're dealing with similar risks. as he told Jake Tapper on State of the Union this morning.

[00:07:07]>> This is not CO uh Jake and we don't want to treat it like CO. We want to don't want to cause a public panic over this.

[00:07:12]We want to treat it with a haunt virus protocols that we that again we're successful in containing outbreaks in the past. Uh and so we we followed those protocols. The key message I want to send to your audience is that this is not co this is not going to have lead to the kind of outbreak And Fred, we're hearing similar assessments by global health officials who have emphasized that the public health risk remains low from hun virus uh saying humanto human transmission is generally considered rare and that the virus does not spread in the same way as flu or covid 19. And the Trump administration faced scrutiny last year after making deep cuts to staffing at the CDC, including layoffs of disease detectives and outbreak forecasters as part of a larger effort to cut government spending. But the CDC acting director said that if the threat from Hav virus were higher, then the health officials here at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have reacted differently, adding that he thinks this has been a quote absolutely professional response to this by the CDC. Fred, now back to you.

[00:08:24]>> Raphael Romo at the CDC in Atlanta.

[00:08:27]Thank you so much. All right, joining me right now to talk more about these developments is Dr. Sierra Mad. She is the infectious disease epidemiologist at the Harford Belfar Center and the chief bioreparedness officer for the New York City Health System. Dr. Great to see you.

[00:08:43]>> Thanks for having me on.

[00:08:44]>> So the French prime minister says one of their passengers from the ship showed hentus symptoms during the flight home.

[00:08:52]Does that give you any concerns about how this repatriation process is going to be played out?

[00:09:00]Well, first, you know, we know this is a highly complex multi-country effort.

[00:09:03]It's both a public health response as well as a humanitarian response. And the there's three objectives here. The first is the safe and humane transfer of all the passengers and crew members on board. The second is the protection of all the community members um and everyone else kind of around them. And the third is those that are responding to this incident. Now, with the confir with this symptomatic case, that's not surprising because all of these individuals are still within their incubation period. So this is not a failure of response. This is just showing surveillance is actually working >> because it can take up to right six or maybe even eight weeks for symptoms to actually show up. And in light of this French passenger uh showing symptoms of the virus today, do you agree with the CDC plans to, you know, allow these American passengers um to travel to the US and then be at least under observation in the Nebraska facility before eventually they may self monitor?

[00:09:58]This is certainly a risk-based approach and it's appropriate with the the the disease that we're dealing with which is haunt virus. And so what's important is that as you know these 17 passengers are disembarked and safely transferred over and repatriated to the United States, they're going to go through an additional assessment looking at their exposure and symptoms and then based on that the appropriate path will be followed for high-risisk contacts as well as low-risisk contacts. So there is a plan in place there is a protocol and it includes public health oversight. So I am comfortable and confident in the process and we'll see this play out in the coming days.

[00:10:28]>> So we just heard though that um you may pass on this virus potentially once you're symptomatic. So if people go home uh say for instance any of those 17 Americans who do eventually go home they self monitor then now they do show some symptoms those who are in the home with them are they now susceptible to the spread?

[00:10:51]Well, based on, you know, if they have any symptoms, this would be a higher risk, uh, you know, pathway. And so, they would most likely be quarantined away from others, away from family members, away from the general public.

[00:11:02]And so, that is what the the the game plan is. And so, once that assessment is done, the most important thing is based on their risk and their symptoms, they are, you know, part of that public health pathway and they're married with healthcare resources and support that's needed. You know, I will also mention this is why public health capacity is so important and making sure we have this not in the middle of a crisis but beforehand and maintaining that capacity is so extremely important. And so here in the United States with the active dismantling of public health, you know, that is certainly a wake-up call to everybody that we need to maintain these infrastructures in place. And I commend everybody that's part of this multi-effort. This is across borders, time zones, legal frameworks. So there's a lot of work happening behind the scenes with a lot of amazing and competent people that are working around the clock to really u make sure that this continues to go as planned.

[00:11:51]>> Uh what concerns, if any, do the folks in the Canary Islands or in the mainland of Spain, what concerns should they have or might they have as a result of people disembarking um even though it is anchored uh offshore off the coast there of the Canary Islands? um what kind of concerns do you believe they have that should be addressed?

[00:12:13]>> Well, certainly, you know, there's a lot of anxiety and and fear and I completely understand that, but this is where having a good plan and preparedness and transparency and communication are key.

[00:12:22]And so, this is a highly controlled disembarkment process, step-wise fashion, and there at no point is going to be, you know, um uh you know, in touch with the community or the general public there. And so, this is a highly controlled process. So I feel confident and comfortable with what the World Health Organization along with multiple other agencies have put in place.

[00:12:43]>> Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brun Huber.

[00:12:48]Passengers and some crew members are preparing to leave the cruise ship that has been at the center of a hivirus outbreak. The MV Hondius is now at port in the Spanish island of Tenneref.

[00:12:59]Earlier, the World Health Organization said none of the 147 people on board have symptoms of the virus. that has killed three people in the past few weeks. Medical teams have boarded the vessel and confirmed that's still the case. Passengers and some crew will leave in sealed guarded vehicles before being repatriated. The WH chief is in Tenneref to monitor the evacuations.

[00:13:22]He's reassuring residents and the rest of the world that the risk to public health is very low. Here he is.

[00:13:30]this disease is not COVID and we have said it many times as WHO and when we say this we don't take it lightly.

[00:13:40]Um and then of course um the other issue would like to say which I also indicated in in my message to the people of Tenerife is uh the risk uh to the population to the local population is is low.

[00:13:59]Tan's Melissa Bell joins us live from Tenneref with the latest. So Melissa, uh it'll be a complex operation taking place behind you there. Take us through what we're expecting to see.

[00:14:13]>> Well, even now on that ship now just anchored, as you can see, just outside that port. That was the deal that was reached between local authorities and Madrid. How close the ship could get.

[00:14:25]It's not going to get any closer to the shore than that. Everything's going to happen on the ship, Kim, and then people are going to be brought off by small boats. But right now, what is happening uh is that the World Health Organization is aboard and they've begun that screening process to try and check everybody's health uh to have individual interviews with them to figure out where they are. And this will do two things.

[00:14:45]First of all, give them an idea of the state of health of the passengers and what we understand is that they are as when they left cabar asymptomatic.

[00:14:54]uh then uh that will also allow authorities to get a better idea of what happened on the ship and to try and piece together information about the spread of this virus and what might happen next. After they've been screened, little by little, the first groups will start to come off Spanish nationals first of all and they will be taken off of the ship by speedboat onto little buses. Everybody involved will be either Spanish military or health uh officials. All be will be wearing FFP.

[00:15:24]They'll be then transferred straight on the planes. They'll be waiting for them on the tarmac. Uh engines running, doors open, we understand. Because what's been so interesting has been to watch the pains to which not just Spanish health authorities have gone, Kim, but also uh the World Health Organization has gone to really reassure everyone every step of the way with a great deal of transparency about the protest precisely because of those fears to which you alluded a moment ago.

[00:15:48]They go back to their home countries.

[00:15:49]Every country has its own protocols in place. But what we understand from uh those who've announced what they will be, there will be a quarantine period.

[00:15:57]So all of these people taken back to a single facility, kept in quarantine for a bit and then begins this long isolation period because you're talking about a minimum of 40 days. That's the recommendation from the World Health Organization. But again, the fact of these transparent uh mechanisms or the organization of the day ahead of us, but also I think the fact that Dr. Ted Ross, the head of the World Health Organization, is here in person. I think gives you an idea of just how keen everybody is to reassure the world that this is a contained outbreak on a single ship and that there is no danger either to people here in Tenneref or to the home countries where these passengers will finally be able to head back. Kim, >> all those official reassurances, I'm sure there is plenty of worry there on the island about uh being possibly exposed to this. What have you been hearing?

[00:16:51]>> Uh there has been uh a lot of worry.

[00:16:54]There have been these protests. There was the initial ranking came between local authorities in Madrid about whether and how this ship should be allowed to approach Tenneref. And then I think what you saw yesterday was super interesting in a very unusual public letter to the people of Tenneref. Dr. Ted Ross expressed himself not thanking them not just for making this possible uh big logistically in terms of the infrastructure here in Tenneref but he said out of that sense of solidarity uh that we owe the people and use this very beautiful phrase saying that the best immunity really faced with an outbreak like this is solidarity. That is how you get to the bottom of it. And this ship had seen its access to other ports refused. So the fact that it's here a testament really uh not just to the organization that's been put in place, but as Dr. Ted Ross says, the fact that there was a sense of solidarity and humanity was the word he used. And again coming back to the people on the ship.

[00:17:47]It's very difficult to imagine how they would have felt this morning as the sun rose and they were within sight finally of land that would take them in. Kim, >> yeah, obviously uh would be a huge relief for so many people. Melissa Bell, thank you so much. Uh for more, I want to go now to CNN's Barbie Lata Nadau, uh who is in Rome. So Barbie, uh we heard there from Melissa what happens to the passengers right now. Let's go a bit forward, uh to when the passengers get to their home countries. Take us through that process. Give us give us a bit more details.

[00:18:20]>> Yeah, Kim, you know, there are 23 different nationalities uh represented here and each country has been allowed to come up with their own plan and their own protocols. the the 17 American passengers, for example, will be flown to Nebraska. They will be assessed and they will be determined how long they'll have to quarantine uh before then they have to stay in this isolation period.

[00:18:40]And so each and every country has its own set of of circumstances. But what's also really interesting is what happens to the ship. Um you know, once all these passengers disembark and are flown out and they're not going to be allowed to get off that ship until their flight, their repatriation flight is ready. Uh they don't want anyone sort of loitering around. then the ship will go on with a a limited number of crew members to Rotterdam. And so that's going to be the next point at which people will be wondering uh and not necessarily maybe wanting that vessel. And and let's listen to what the Spanish uh interior minister had to say about that process.

[00:19:16]I can confirm that repatriation flights to France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands have already been scheduled. To assist those European Union countries that do not have air transport resources available, the European Civil Protection Mechanism has made two aircraft available and the necessary flights for the transfer will be scheduled throughout the course of today, Saturday. I would also like to emphasize once again that the risk to the general public remains low. As for the Spanish passengers, once they arrive at Tori de Orardos airport, they will be taken to Gomez Ola Hospital where they will undergo preventative quarantine under medical supervision in accordance with protocols approved yesterday by the public health committee.

[00:20:04]And Kim, that wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but we do uh did hear from the Spanish interior minister who said that that ship and I I believe it's a more than a dozen crew members will make its way to Rotterdam, will then go through a a very very crucial disinfection uh process and then the ship will will have to be turned around, used again, who knows? But the ship will not stay in Tenneref and I think that is probably a great relief to the people of Tenneref. Um and and then you know once those passengers are gone they can go back to their you know holiday tour season. Uh but in the meantime today and tomorrow are going to be crucial days on that island and people be waiting and watching and those passengers must surely uh feel a sense of relief even though the uncertainty about what happens next to them I is really unknown. Kim >> yeah exactly right Barbieado thank you so much. Appreciate it. I want to bring in Dr. Scott Misovich, president and CEO of Premier Medical Group USA, and joins us live from Kyua, Hawaii. Uh, good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us. Uh, great to get your expertise on this story. So, uh, we know right now the the WHO is on board screening those passengers. Take us through what's happening right now.

[00:21:18]>> Yeah, Kim, and again, good to see you again. I think uh five years ago we were six years ago we were sitting here having a lot of COVID discussions over and over again.

[00:21:28]>> Um well what's happening right now is they're first talking about symptomatology and now it's mostly going to be respiratory but as we've seen in some of these passengers it can be GI.

[00:21:40]So basically almost any sign of illness is something they're looking for. And uh we have seen on the unfortunate three passengers that have died, the initial passengers that they started to develop respiratory symptoms and it hasn't been brought up that within 5 days both the husband and wife Dutch uh couple died of their symptoms. That is so classic of the Andes variant because it affects the lungs and your lungs just fill up with secretions and you drown with secretions. So essentially right now they're screening for symptoms. I'm hoping that they have um now a uh PCR machine available on board and they're also doing blood tighters because that's how we would do it in a scientific way is check for IGG and IGM blood blood tighters and those would be definitive.

[00:22:35]Mhm. It it has low transmissibility, high um mortality unfortunately. And you were writing to me earlier sort of talking about that process and it sounds like an absolutely um terrible way to die as you as you described it. I mean for those who might have symptoms is is there anything that that can be done?

[00:22:54]What kind of treatments are available?

[00:22:58]>> Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And that's why you have this 35 to 40% mortality rate, especially with the Andes variant.

[00:23:06]There's nothing but supportive care.

[00:23:08]There are no antivirals available that can be given to slow the u the shedding of this infection. So basically, they're usually going to be put on ventilators and they're going to be uh uh you know, put on life support. M so right now uh mo those patients that are on the uh on the ship right now according to what we've been told none of them have symptoms which uh we're very thankful for. Uh the 17 Americans on board the cruise ship, they'll be sent to Nebraska for assessment and testing. Take us through what that process will be uh will be like. What what uh do you think they'll be going through? What kind of uh testing, quarantine, and then afterwards? what happens to them?

[00:23:54]>> Well, it's already raised a little bit of a concern in our country because there's just not a real clear detail coming out of the CDC. Now, they are going there. They're supposed to be uh put into a facility and they're going to be evaluated by the appropriate medical staff and then they are supposedly going to be voluntarily allowed to stay to observe for symptoms if they are asymptomatic. They didn't really state specifically what detailed blood testing that they would be doing at that time or perhaps chest X-rays etc. But one of the things that has most of us in this field very concerned about is they are saying that they're not going to keep them there through the quarantine period and they are going to let them return home to be on self quarantine. That is people concerned overall. Um so again if anybody has symptoms I'm certain they will put them into a quarantine facility and treat them medically but not holding them at this stage is a little concerning to the public. Well, okay.

[00:25:03]You say some people are concerned. I'll ask you directly. Are you concerned? And and what is your concern here?

[00:25:10]>> Um, well, I have been saying this from the beginning of the outbreak and I'm going to state it now. I wish Dr. Tedros would would be a little more explanatory to the world on why we shouldn't worry.

[00:25:25]And Kim, this is not the next pandemic.

[00:25:28]You know, we do have history of the Andes virus in 2019. It broke out in a wedding and the R not, that little R with a little zero that we've all studied during COVID was only 2.2. What that meant in a very well public health detailed evaluation in a very close environment that only 17 people got it and many others that were close did not get it. So, one, it's not contagious.

[00:25:57]Why? Because there are two types of viruses that are RNA viruses. One is what's called a positive sense and the other's called a negative sense. No one has explained this to the world. COVID was a positive sense. What that means is as soon as it entered the cell, it was ready to rip. It started replicating immediately, which is why we had symptoms three days after infection.

[00:26:25]Now, this virus is a negative sense, which means it's got to carry all its luggage into the cell.