Dr. Stephen Kornfeld is currently being monitored in a specialized biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The retired oncologist from Oregon was admitted after testing positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus following a voyage on the MV Hondius.
Dr. Kornfeld took over medical duties on the cruise ship when the vessel's primary physician became incapacitated by the virus. His efforts to treat fellow travelers have now placed him at the center of a rare maritime outbreak that has reached eleven total cases.
Health officials reported on Wednesday that while the doctor is presently asymptomatic, his initial tests showed a faint positive result for the pathogen. He remains in strict isolation as medical teams await further confirmatory results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak has already claimed three lives and left a French passenger in critical condition at a hospital in Paris. That patient is currently receiving life-saving support from an artificial lung while doctors battle the severe respiratory complications of the disease.
Experts are closely tracking the situation because the Andes hantavirus is the only strain known to occasionally spread between humans. This characteristic makes the closed environment of a cruise ship particularly dangerous for potential transmission among passengers and crew.
Alongside Dr. Kornfeld, fifteen other American passengers are currently undergoing a period of mandatory observation in Omaha's National Quarantine Unit. These individuals are being held in spartan accommodations to ensure they do not develop symptoms during the virus's long incubation period.
The MV Hondius is now sailing toward the Netherlands to undergo a comprehensive deep-cleaning and disinfection process. Global health authorities continue to monitor the remaining crew members as they navigate the final leg of their journey across the Atlantic.
Dr. Kornfeld expressed that he feels fortunate to be receiving high-level care in one of the nation's premier infectious disease facilities. He continues to communicate with his family via video calls while the medical community studies this unprecedented cluster of infections.