Dr. Stephen Kornfeld of Bend, Oregon, was released Wednesday from the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, where he had been isolated after returning from the cruise ship Hondius. He was the only one among 16 Americans flown to Omaha to be placed in the high-level isolation unit after an inconclusive nasal swab test raised concerns he might be infected.
Hospital spokesperson Kayla Thomas announced that Kornfeld will now join the 15 other Americans who were taken to the National Quarantine Unit for monitoring rather than the biocontainment unit.
Kornfeld appeared on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Tuesday, saying from his hospital room, “I feel wonderful, 100%.” He said he experienced a period of flu-like symptoms aboard the ship — night sweats, chills, and fatigue — but is now without symptoms.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday that a total of 11 hantavirus cases linked to the cruise have been reported worldwide, including three deaths. Eight cases have been confirmed by laboratory tests.
Kornfeld said a nasal swab he took on the ship was later tested twice in the Netherlands — one result came back negative and the other positive. “The initial test that we received was from abroad and it was inconclusive in its results,” Dr. David Fitter of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters Wednesday.
In addition to the passengers taken to Nebraska, two other Americans are being monitored at the serious communicable disease unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Health authorities say this is the first hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. While there is no cure or vaccine for hantavirus, the WHO says early detection and treatment improves survival rates. Public health officials say the risk to the general public from the outbreak is low. Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people, though the Andes virus detected on the Hondius may be able to spread between people in rare cases. The WHO is recommending that passengers and crew from the cruise ship stay in quarantine, either at home or other facilities, for 42 days.
Kornfeld described his quarters at the biocontainment unit as a hospital room with a comfortable bed. “It’s a little weird being in here by myself,” he said before he was cleared to leave. “But the nurses come in, the doctors come in. I’m on WhatsApp all the time. It’s really amazing how quickly time flies.”