Doctor on ship who helped care for passengers with hantavirus leaves medical isolation unit

Key Points:

• Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an oncologist who cared for sick passengers during a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, has been cleared to leave the biocontainment unit in Nebraska and will join other Americans in the National Quarantine Unit for monitoring.
• Kornfeld experienced flu-like symptoms on the ship but is currently symptom-free; initial nasal swab tests for hantavirus were inconclusive, with conflicting results from laboratories in the Netherlands.
• The World Health Organization reports 11 hantavirus cases linked to the cruise, including three deaths, marking the first known hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, with eight cases confirmed by lab tests.
• Health officials emphasize the low risk to the general public, noting hantavirus typically spreads from rodent droppings and rarely between people, although the Andes virus on the ship may transmit between humans in rare cases.
• The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine for all passengers and crew from the cruise ship, while Kornfeld described his isolated hospital stay as comfortable but lonely, with regular contact from medical staff and communication technology.