WHO Confirms No US Hantavirus Cases: Dr. Kornfeld Cleared, No Mutation Detected, 41 Still Monitored

The False Positive Is Official

Dr. Stephen Kornfeld is not a hantavirus case. Full stop.

The Oregon oncologist, who stepped up to treat sick passengers aboard the MV Hondius after the ship's own doctor fell ill, was cleared of infection after repeat PCR testing and serology testing both came back negative, according to Ars Technica. The University of Nebraska Medical Center confirmed he has been moved from the biocontainment unit to a standard quarantine facility.

"I physically feel great — I have felt great for many, many days," Kornfeld told ABC News on Friday. "Emotionally, I feel wonderful. It's nice to be negative for hantavirus."

The media ran with his initial "mildly positive" result for days. The WHO itself had counted him as a case in its May 13 outbreak report. That number has now officially been revised down from 11 to 10.

What Actually Happened With His Test

Kornfeld and others took nasal swabs in early May, before evacuation. Those swabs went to two separate labs in the Netherlands. One lab returned a negative. The other returned a faint positive, according to Ars Technica.

A faint PCR positive can mean a low-level infection, the tail end of an infection, or simple contamination. The WHO described his original result as "inconclusive" — but still counted it. Most mainstream outlets did not adequately flag this qualifier when they were reporting a confirmed American case.

His serology test — which checks for antibodies, meaning evidence of any past infection — also came back negative. He was never infected. The faint positive was almost certainly contamination.

The Outbreak Numbers Right Now

Here is where things stand, according to the WHO and reporting by Ars Technica and NDTV Profit:

• 10 total cases: 7 who became ill on the ship, 1 who disembarked April 24 and later fell ill in Switzerland, and 2 identified during repatriation — one from France, one from Spain
• 3 deaths: a Dutch couple and a German woman, with no new fatalities since May 2
• 8 confirmed infections, 2 probable cases
• 41 people in the US currently being monitored by the CDC, according to Bloomberg — either because they were aboard the ship or had contact with a passenger after disembarkation

CDC Director of Global Migration Health David Fitter confirmed the 41-person monitoring figure during a Thursday briefing, per Bloomberg.

No Mutation. Genome Sequenced. Old Strain.

Andreas Hoefer, a microbiology and molecular epidemiology expert with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), stated Wednesday that the virus's genome has been fully sequenced. The result: it is virtually identical to strains that caused past outbreaks in South America.

"At the moment there is no data to suggest this virus is behaving any differently in transmissibility or severity," Hoefer said, according to NDTV Profit. "All sequences to date are virtually identical."

The WHO echoed this at Friday's press briefing, according to The Hill — the overall public risk remains low, and there is ZERO evidence of increased transmissibility.

The ECDC believes the first passenger was infected before boarding the Hondius, likely in South America, which is where this strain originates. That's how it got on the ship.

One Wrinkle Worth Watching

ECDC official Gino Spiteri noted at the Wednesday briefing that the virus can be detected in a patient's blood up to two days before symptoms appear. According to NDTV Profit, there may be some risk of pre-symptomatic transmission.

As a result, the ECDC is now recommending contact tracing extend backward two days before symptom onset. This is a procedural update, not a red flag about the virus itself, though it does mean the monitoring net extends slightly further back.

WHO Director-General Confirms Evacuation Complete

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during Friday's press conference that the operation in the Canary Islands to safely evacuate and repatriate MV Hondius passengers is complete, according to Ars Technica.

Current Status

There are ZERO confirmed hantavirus cases in the United States right now. The American doctor who treated passengers is not infected. The virus has not mutated. Forty-one people are being monitored as a precautionary measure.

The outbreak remains tragic — three people are dead, ten were infected. The available evidence indicates this is not a runaway threat.