US national tests 'mildly positive' for Hantavirus, another showing symptoms: HHS

An American citizen on a repatriation flight to the country began showing symptoms of Hantavirus, and another one was "tested mildly positive for Andes virus" after they were evacuated from the infected ship, MV Hondius. The news was confirmed by the Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday night.

In a statement, the HHS noted that both passengers were "travelling in the plane's biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution." Meanwhile, the University of Nebraska Medical Centre said the passenger who tested positive was not experiencing any symptoms. It is the same university where the rest of the passengers are heading for further testing.

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The announcement from the American authorities came right after the French Prime Minister said on Sunday afternoon that one of the nationals also began showing symptoms during a repatriation flight.

It is pertinent to note that the passengers began disembarking the cruise on Sunday morning after the vessel was docked in Spain's Canary Islands. At that time, officials noted that no one aboard the ship was showing symptoms of Hantavirus, the deadly disease typically transmitted by rodents.

The evacuation process is ongoing

Patients involved in the outbreak have tested positive for the rare Andes strain that can be transmitted from person to person. Since the docking of the ships, passengers were carefully evacuated by nationality and placed on repatriation flights.

Since the boat was docked in Spain, the country's nationals disembarked first, then boarded a plane for Madrid, where they were taken to a military hospital. After Spain, French and British passengers have also been evacuated.

The French passenger was on the repatriation flight when they began showing symptoms, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in a social media post. However, Lecornu did not mention if the passengers had yet been tested for hantavirus or what the passengers' symptoms were.

He noted that all five passengers "were immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice," and will now undergo testing. It is pertinent to note that there have been at least nine confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus linked to the outbreak on the ship, including three fatalities: A Dutch couple and a German woman.