(Omaha, Nebraska) Nebraska Medicine is confirming that one cruise ship passenger is in Omaha who has tested positive for hantavirus.
The passenger is one of a group that was expected to arrive in Omaha today for treatment at the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Officials say the patient who tested positive for hantavirus is showing no symptoms, but they will be monitored in the Biocontainment Unit out of an abundance of caution.
According to the World Health Organization Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses that naturally infect rodents and are occasionally transmitted to humans. Infection in people can result in severe illness and often death, although the diseases vary by type of virus and geographical location.
In the Americas, infection has been known to lead to hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a rapidly progressive condition affecting the lungs and heart, while in Europe and Asia hantaviruses have been known to cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which primarily affects the kidneys and blood vessels.
