The Hague: Countries around the world on Monday repatriated passengers from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak and placed them in quarantine or quarantine, including a French woman and an American who tested positive.Passengers on board the MV Hondius began flying home on military and government aircraft after the ship broke down in the Canary Islands on Sunday. Personnel wearing full-body protective gear and respiratory masks escorted passengers from the ship to Tenerife’s shores, an effort that continued Monday.Three cruise ship passengers have died and there are at least six confirmed cases of hantavirus, according to the World Health Organization. WHO spokesperson Sarah Taylor said on Monday that the laboratory results of the American who tested positive were inconclusive. Health authorities say the risk to the wider public is low following the first outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship. Although there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, the World Health Organization says early detection and treatment can improve survival rates. The ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, released a video on Monday praising the passengers and crew for their perseverance and calling for their privacy to be respected.The French woman tested positive for hantavirus and her health condition deteriorated overnight in hospital, French Health Minister Stephanie Riester said on Monday. The woman was one of five French passengers deported on Sunday. Riester told public broadcaster France Internationale that she developed symptoms on a flight to Paris.U.S. health officials said late Sunday that one of the 18 passengers evacuated from the ship and flown to Nebraska tested positive for hantavirus but was not showing any symptoms, and another had mild symptoms. After arriving in Nebraska early Monday, the U.S. passengers were flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which houses a federally funded quarantine facility. Once there, they are being assessed to determine whether they have been in close contact with anyone with symptoms and their level of risk for spreading the virus.Planes arriving in Tenerife will pick up passengers from more than 20 countries for the evacuation operation, which will end on Monday. On Monday, 54 passengers and crew remained on board, 22 of whom were expected to disembark and the remaining 32 who would remain on board when it returns to the Netherlands
