A vacationing doctor who took charge of treating hantavirus patients aboard the MV Hondius after the ship’s lead medical officer became unwell is now in isolation, having contracted the virus himself.
Retired oncologist Stephen Kornfeld is currently in a biocontainment unit in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite his diagnosis, he shared with CNN on Tuesday that he feels “wonderful” and is not experiencing any symptoms at the moment.
Kornfeld, one of 18 passengers who arrived in Omaha on Monday, recalled experiencing flu-like symptoms while still at sea, unaware that these could be indicative of hantavirus.
“I went through three days of night sweats, had significant chills, some mild respiratory issues, and felt extremely fatigued,” he explained.
Although the night sweats and respiratory symptoms subsided relatively quickly, the fatigue persisted for approximately two and a half weeks.
Hailing from Oregon, Kornfeld had stepped in to care for hantavirus patients when the ship’s chief medic became sick. During this period, he was tested for hantavirus, with two of his samples sent to the Netherlands for analysis. One of these tests returned a “faintly positive” result.
He is being quarantined in the unit out of an abundance of caution after his test result was forwarded onto the authorities.
“I feel great, I feel wonderful, 100%,” he said. “It’s still possible that the test represents an evolving disease, and I will get symptoms down the road. This is why I’m in the biocontainment unit.”
Kornfeld is expected to receive more test results by Friday. If negative, he will be reunited with the other 15 passengers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Passengers are being monitored for 42 days – the virus’s incubation period — but authorities have always maintained the risk to Americans is low, something which has been echoed by Kornfeld.
“This is a very secure facility. So if I am to get sick, there’s no way that virus is getting out of this building,” he said.
Kornfeld previously told CNN how he “fell into the role of becoming the ship’s doctor” and he treated patients without fully realizing it was hantavirus.
He said how he didn’t really feel “super vulnerable” – despite the limited protective equipment on board the ship.
“You’re just trying to do the best you can in the circumstances with somewhat limited resources on a cruise,” he said.
The ship was stocked with anti-inflammatory meds and oxygen tanks – but wasn’t kitted out with scanners that could detect hantavirus, Kornfeld told the Atlantic.
A total of 94 passengers were evacuated from the ship on Sunday after it docked in Tenerife, Spain. The ship’s docking location sparked fury among politicians and some locals amid fears of the COVID pandemic.
Health officials have since revealed 11 people on board the ship contracted the Andes strain of the virus, which carries a 40% mortality rate.
But, possible hantavirus cases have been reported among some who were not on board the ship.
A resident living in Winnebago County, Illinois, may have caught the virus when cleaning a home where rodent droppings were present, the Illinois Department of Public Health said Tuesday. Their symptoms were mild and they didn’t require hospitalization.
Five other Americans are also being monitored for hantavirus despite not stepping foot on the ship.
Two New Jersey residents, two Marylanders, and one Californian are in isolation under the strict supervision of health department officials after they all took international flights that included passengers from the cruise.
