What we know about passengers being monitored for hantavirus in Atlanta after deadly cruise outbreak

Añadido: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]We're going to begin tonight with breaking news at 6:00 just minutes ago Emory University officials providing an update on two people being monitored for Hantavirus here in Atlanta.

[00:00:09]>> They arrived in Atlanta this morning after getting off of a cruise ship at the center of a deadly outbreak.

[00:00:14]>> We're going to get straight out to 11Alive's Grace King. She's live at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

[00:00:20]Grace, what have you learned so far?

[00:00:24]Well, those doctors said they really felt fortunate that Emory was the one called upon to help respond to the Hantavirus. They said this is something they've prepared for for years with their serious communicable diseases unit, even training other hospitals across the country, and that they really have the resources in place to be able to handle a serious disease like this.

[00:00:41]They were They received two passengers from that cruise ship this morning. One that is showing symptoms, one has not, but they said the symptoms that they're exhibiting right now are just common cold symptoms. Could be something else, but they're taking every precaution possible. saw them getting off the plane this morning, being transported here by ambulance to Emory. And they said that everything worked as possible. The teammates were really ready, but they were one of three successful hospitals that was successful in treating Ebola patients back in 2014, and that they've been training other people on how to do exactly what they did today. They said they've been preparing for this really since 2002, and that as soon as they started hearing about these cases, they were weighing in on the response, working with state officials and government officials to figure out how to prepare for this. They said all 13 units responded with readiness, that their preparedness worked, and that they understand this is an uncertain and stressful time. We also heard from the CDC, who said they've been working about this, even going to the Canary Islands to greet the passengers and help them there. Take a listen to what he said and how they're prioritizing their response.

[00:01:47]We understand that this is an uncertain and stressful time for the passengers.

[00:01:52]They've gone through quite a bit. Uh and we're trying to help them, and this is a priority for us.

[00:01:58]But the priority big priorities for us are the safe and healthy return of the passengers, but also safe and healthy American communities. And this is what we're working towards.

[00:02:10]And to keep the Americans uh safe and healthy, they have 13 of these regional bio-containment units staged across the country. One of them is of course here at Emory University. That's where those passengers are as they get evaluated and tested to see if they have hantavirus or what those next steps are. They're not releasing a lot of details about those passengers or their conditions right now because they are patients being treated as medical patients here at Emory University. But they said they trained for this, they prepared for this, and this is as safe as it can get. So, in terms of the public, they say there's no risk to you. They know a lot about this virus, how it works, how it spreads.

[00:02:43]It's not a new concept, so they feel very confident that they are ready and able to respond here at Emory University. Live at Emory, Grace King, 11 Alive News.

[00:02:52]>> right. They are in good hands, Grace.

[00:02:54]Thanks for the update. By the way, we've been streaming the latest updates on this story all day long from our 11 Alive streaming studio. This morning we brought you comments from Governor Brian Kemp who says that he's confident in the state's response. There's nobody better to handle that uh than the folks at Emory. You think about how they've uh dealt with uh folks that had Ebola that had been transported back here. And we're going to do the right thing. We're going to help get these people back and uh get them in the right environment that doesn't uh put our fellow Georgians in jeopardy.