The two Texas residents being monitored for hantavirus have been cleared after completing their 42-day observation period infection-free.
The two Texas passengers were exposed to the isolated outbreak of the Andes strain aboard the MV Hondius.
Monitoring was recommended for everyone aboard the ship after some passengers became sick with the virus in April.
The Texas passengers left the ship and returned home before the outbreak was identified. The two were evaluated in person twice daily by public health workers while isolating at home.
They completed a 42-day observation period infection-free — the longest known period between exposure and signs of symptoms.
They are no longer under public health restrictions.
See here for the background. This is not a surprise, for as we saw in previous reporting hantavirus generally requires close contact to spread and does not spread asymptomatically. The quarantining done by the returning passengers has eliminated the risk, which is why you hadn’t heard anything about hantavirus since the original news stories. Feel free to go back to worrying about ebola and screwworms instead.