Eighteen Americans evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which became the centre of a deadly Hantavirus outbreak, have returned to the United States and are now being quarantined at specialised biocontainment facilities across the country.
The outbreak, linked to the Andes strain of the virus, reportedly claimed the lives of three people aboard the vessel.
Most of the evacuees are being monitored at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Two others, including one individual reportedly showing symptoms, are being treated at a high-level biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Officials from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have stressed that the risk to the wider public remains low. However, those exposed to the virus are expected to remain under observation during the 42-day incubation period.
Health authorities are also monitoring potentially exposed individuals in at least six states, including Arizona, California, Virginia, Texas, Georgia and New Jersey, as investigations continue.