Americans exposed to hantavirus return to quarantine in U.S.

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:02]Welcome back to the takeout. I'm Ed O'Keefe in Washington in for Major Garrett. A and now for something completely different. Those Americans exposed to Haunt virus aboard a cruise ship are now quarantining back here in the United States. Most of those people are isolating at what's known as the National Quarantine Center in Nebraska.

[00:00:19]At least one person has tested positive and another is showing mild symptoms.

[00:00:23]Health officials are insisting the risk to the public is low. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Dr. John Leuke is with us to discuss this now. Doctor, great to see you. Happy Monday. Walk us through this quarantine. What's happening right now? Why should people care?

[00:00:38]>> So, this is an example of when public health works, nothing happens, right?

[00:00:44]What am I talking about? Well, when these passengers were potentially exposed to the virus, the fear was that it has an incubation period of up to six weeks. So if they were in fact infected at any point in that six week period, they could suddenly start to have symptoms. And we know from a lot of research that was done that the they're most infectious around the time when they start getting symptoms. And unfortunately the symptoms at the beginning are sort of like a little flu-l like symptoms, headache, a little fever, and people could blow it off and say ah it's nothing. Uh and not realizing that they're spreading it. So in an abundance of caution, knowing the science, they brought them back to Nebraska where they're going to be in quarantine. And and then the really smart thing was that um knowing that somebody had tested positive, apparently weekly positive. I want some more details on that from a medical point of view, but uh they put that person in a special bioontainment kind of like a protective pod on the plane on the way back so that they didn't infect other people. So that's an example of when public health works, nothing happens.

[00:01:43]What's the nothing that what the something that could have happened was the person just went went out to wherever they lived uh with no precautions suddenly got became infectious and infected other people and then you're off to the races again because everybody who's exposed can then have another beginning of the clock of of up to six weeks of potentially turning positive.

[00:02:03]>> But was it risky for the passengers and frankly for that crew to fly them back here in the first place? So, from everything that they're telling us, no, because they had PPE protective uh equipment that were on the clothes, they also for the people who were really uh they were worried about when they did the assessment, they put them in these protective pods. Remember back in the day of Ebola, they used those then, right, when they were bringing people back to the United States. When you're not sure, what you don't want to have happen is for somebody to seem to be fine, suddenly mid-flight, they get symptoms, and then you go, uh-oh, too late. We've infected others. And instead, they put them in these protective pods. So it was not dangerous for the other people. And >> if it turns out that that they said weekly positive PCR, remember that from the days of COVID, this is not CO, but the weekly positive PCR. If that turns out to be true, then that was a really great move.

[00:02:53]>> Uh in in our remaining minute or so, I I'm I'm curious about two things. one uh you can't help but think about corona virus and how would you compare this response to that five six years ago and the strains that have been put on the CDC and the federal public health system especially in the last year or so how does this stress test that what are you concerned could happen given the changes >> I'm just gonna say and this is totally different I'm going to just say this is not going to be a pandemic the viruses are totally different you know we had never seen corona virus we know H virus been around for 30 years. This strain we know about it. Um people of course have PTSD for the pandemic. So they go like this. The reassurance from the WHO and the CDC >> is helpful. But what is really reassuring is the science is is knowing that there's basic public health uh effect and and response where you do boots on the ground and you and you have contact isolation. The people who have the contact uh they think they've been exposed, you put them in quarantine.

[00:03:54]It's basic stuff that we know how to do.

[00:03:56]So people should not think this is going to be the next pandemic. I understand that that they do think I will end with this with the five seconds I have left.

[00:04:03]This is a think of this as a mini stress test, right? It turns out that you know I think it's going to be okay. It's you know there may be a few more cases but what if it had been a lot more infectious? Are we really prepared given as you alluded to some of the cuts that have been made in our preparedness? I think that's a good thing to talk about the next time you and I get together.

[00:04:22]Well, hopefully it won't be about Honda virus spreading, but it's always good to talk to you, sir. Good to see you theoretically.

[00:04:28]>> Right. Take care. All >> righty. Dr. Leuk, thank you from New York.