Hantavirus: US Nationals in Nebraska, French Case Confirmed & Australia Quarantine Measures

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]A plane carrying American passengers evacuated from a haunt virus hit cruise ship landed in Omaha, Nebraska early Monday morning. US health officials confirmed late Sunday that of the 17 Americans on board, one has tested positive for the haunt virus. While that individual is currently asymptomatic, another passenger is reportedly showing mild symptoms.

[00:00:24]The infected passenger is being transported to the Nebraska Bioontainment Unit. The remaining passengers will be taken to the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This federally funded facility will assess each individual's risk level and determine if they had close contact with symptomatic patients. The medical center is no stranger to high stakes containment. Its specialized units were previously utilized for both Ebola and CO 19 patients.

[00:00:54]The evacuation began Sunday after the cruise ship, the MV Hondius, anchored in Spain's Canary Islands.

[00:01:25]Yeah.

[00:01:39]Positive.

[00:01:43]Fore technique.

[00:02:17]The national coordination mechanism of the federal government which includes the foreign affairs department, health and nema have met this afternoon as have the AHPC.

[00:02:29]Uh and our government will be putting in national quarantine arrangements that are supported by the advice of those two bodies. Uh this will require us to list the hiv virus as a listed human disease under the biocurity act which is an act that effectively replaced the old quarantine act that's been in place for about 120 years. uh that listing will happen over the next 24 hours uh before the return of those Australians and that New Zealander and an order will then be made for those passengers to be subject to quarantine arrangements at the Bullsbrook Center for National Resilience which is just northeast of Perth uh next door to Rathbase Pierce.

[00:03:15]Uh the flight that will be arranged by DEFAT to repatriate those Australians and that New Zealander will be landed at RAF Base PS. Uh and those six people will be transferred immediately to that quarantine facility directly next door to the RAF base. People might recall this is one of the quarantine facilities or the national centers for national resilience that were set up uh at the back end of the last pandemic. It is still there. It is able to operate. Uh it is uh currently owned by the Commonwealth government and will be operate operated in partnership with WA Health.