CDC says 41 across U.S. being monitored for hantavirus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced May 14 that 41 people across the U.S. are being monitored for symptoms of hantavirus following an outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. David Fitter, M.D., incident manager for the CDC's hantavirus response, said that the individuals come from three groups: passengers aboard the ship who are now being quarantined in Nebraska and Georgia, passengers from the ship who returned home before the outbreak was identified, and people who may have been exposed during travel on flights where a symptomatic case was present. Fitter said that some of the individuals at home are monitoring their health in coordination with their state and local health departments, with support from the CDC.

A total of 16 passengers from the ship are being quarantined at Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., and two are being quarantined at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.