Patient brought to Emory after possible hantavirus exposure tests negative

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]A patient brought to Emory with a mild symptoms after possible hantavirus exposure has now tested negative.

[00:00:06]>> right. So, the US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that this afternoon, but for now that person along with a closer contact who was exposed is not showing any symptoms. Both remain at Emory. 11Alive's Galina Malama explains what happens next. The hospital hasn't said how long the passengers will remain here at Emory, but at a hospital in Nebraska where 16 other exposed passengers were taken to quarantine, officials there said they're prepared for a 42-day quarantine, though the exact number could vary by individual.

[00:00:36]And while there are two passengers here at Emory, there are also two asymptomatic passengers at home in Georgia right now. A medical convoy brings two passengers from the hantavirus-hit cruise ship to Emory University Hospital's biocontainment unit Monday. A big difference from two Georgians who were on that same ship and are at home being monitored by the State Department of Health. Why is there this contrast? I asked Dr. Jodie Guest with Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. It's important to note the timing. The two passengers allowed to go home were part of a first group that disembarked in late April, a time when Guest says it was not well known what was happening on the ship. Those who were on the ship and disembarked um this weekend, they are after we knew it was hantavirus and so the handling of those cases is a bit different because now we know what we're dealing with.

[00:01:26]Guest says those in the US who went home are being tracked appropriately by health department. A DPH spokesperson tells me those two Georgians at home still aren't showing symptoms as of Tuesday.

[00:01:36]>> pose any risk of spreading it to others if they, you know, went to the grocery store and are asymptomatic?

[00:01:43]>> At the moment, we've not seen anyone who transmits the Andes version of the hantavirus to another person if they are asymptomatic. Guest notes people can develop symptoms up to 42 days after being in close contact with a person who has the virus. So, what does all this mean for your risk of catching the virus? If you are not on the cruise ship that has the outbreak, your risk for developing hantavirus in the state of Georgia is exceptionally low. Yes, as the virus can spread through infected rodents and mouse droppings, so I asked her if there's any reason to be concerned about rats in Georgia spreading it to humans, and she says no.

[00:02:18]She says that it's rare for rodents to be infected, and that it is rare for the Andes strain to be found in the US. In Atlanta, Gilot Malalmed, 11Alive News.

[00:02:27]You know, as for the other passengers on that ship, 16 Americans are currently quarantined in Omaha, Nebraska. The Department of Health says none of them are showing any symptoms tonight.

[00:02:37]Globally, the number of hantavirus cases has risen to 11. This morning, one of the passengers being monitored in Nebraska joined the Today Show to talk about life in isolation. Yesterday, I kind of was just taking the time to speak to friends and family and let them know that I was okay as uh unfortunately some media went out and my face was on it that people could have assumed that I was someone who tested positive, which was incorrect. But, as you may be able to see right behind me, each room is equipped with some exercise equipment, so I actually have a stationary bike behind me, which I will definitely uh be getting some use out of while I'm here in quarantine.

[00:03:16]We're going to have much more on the hantavirus outbreak coming up on at 6:30 on NBC Nightly News, and we also stream updates every day from our 11Alive Streaming Center.