New Jersey health officials are monitoring two state residents who have potentially been exposed to hantavirus, a deadly rat-borne virus fueling an outbreak aboard a cruise ship.
The state health department said the residents were possibly exposed to a hantavirus patient who had left the cruise during air travel but were not passengers on board the MV Hondius.
It is the sixth state known to be monitoring possible hantavirus patients.
As of Friday, there were three deaths from the virus, five confirmed cases and three suspected.
No cases have been confirmed in the US, though nine Americans have potential exposure and are under medical watch in New Jersey, Georgia, California, Texas, Virginia and Arizona.
‘No current hantavirus cases have been identified in the state, and there is no history of a confirmed hantavirus case reported in New Jersey,’ the state health department said in a statement.
According to officials, neither resident is showing symptoms. No information regarding the residents was given.
Concern about an outbreak is rising as approximately 30 passengers have left the vessel and returned to several different countries.
The ship is also on its way to Spain to disembark all of its occupants and the CDC is said to be meeting the remaining American passengers on the cruise to bring them to Nebraska to quarantine.
The cruise ship MV Hondius is battling a hantavirus outbreak
The CDC statement continued: ‘As the world’s leader in global health security, the US government is using our premier health experts to guide our response to this evolving situation.
‘We are working closely with our international partners to provide technical assistance and guidance to mitigate risk.’
For Americans, the CDC said, the current risk is low, but the agency is urging those on the cruise ‘to follow the guidance of health officials as we work to bring you home safely.’
State health officials in Georgia, California, Arizona and Virginia have all confirmed that residents from each state were onboard the vessel and have since returned home, where they are being monitored for signs of hantavirus.
Officials have confirmed to the Daily Mail that two people in Georgia, one person in Arizona and an unspecified number of people in California are back in their respective states and are being monitored by local health authorities.
The Georgia Department of Public Health told the Daily Mail it ‘is monitoring two Georgia residents who returned home after disembarking from the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak.
Georgia officials noted its residents are following recommendations from the CDC. The agency advises those exposed to hantavirus watch for symptoms for 45 days after the last potential exposure.