Nebraska, May 11 -- Seventeen American citizens and one US-based British national arrived at Eppley Airfield early Monday morning, marking the latest phase of a global effort to contain a rare hantavirus outbreak originating from the cruise ship MV Hondius.

The group was transported from Spain's Canary Islands to Nebraska, home to the nation's only federally funded specialised quarantine unit, reported CNN.

Among the arrivals are two individuals of particular concern to health authorities, both of whom were transported in specialised biocontainment units aboard the aircraft. One passenger tested "mildly" positive for the virus during European screenings. Though currently asymptomatic, they have been taken directly to the Biocontainment ...