Teams will bring back Americans to the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska.
Passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship began disembarking on Sunday morning in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, where they were expected to continue on to charter flights back to their home countries.
The total number of confirmed and probable cases of hantavirus onboard the ship is eight, including two people confirmed to have died from the virus and one person who remains suspected to have died from the virus.
There are 17 U.S. citizens aboard the ship who will be returning to the United States. As of Saturday none of them had tested positive for the hantavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A CDC official said Saturday that the federal government doesn't plan to have the repatriated American cruise ship passengers quarantine upon arrival in the U.S.
Here's what you need to know about hantavirus including what it is, how it spreads, how it's treated and if there are any prevention methods:
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illnesses and death, according to the CDC.
How does hantavirus spread?
Hantaviruses may also spread from person to person, but that also is rare and only suspected for one subtype from South America, according to the WHO.
Read more about hantavirus here.
No U.S. residents have experienced any signs of illness as of Friday morning, according to health officials. However, six states are tracking nine residents for possible hantavirus infections.
Health officials in Texas, New Jersey and Georgia are monitoring two people while officials in California, Virginia and Arizona say they each are monitoring one person.
Two New Jersey residents -- who were not passengers on the cruise ship M/V Hondius -- are being monitored for possible hantavirus infections.
The state's health department was notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the residents were potentially exposed to an infected cruise ship passenger during a flight. Neither individual is reporting symptoms.
This brings the total of U.S. residents under monitoring to at least nine across six states. None have shown any signs of illness at this time.
-ABC News' Youri Benadjaoud
The State Department said Friday that it is in "direct communication with Americans on board" the Dutch cruise ship impacted by the hantavirus outbreak and "prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain."
The department added that it is arranging a repatriation flight to support the return of those American passengers.
The department said it was working in coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Spanish government to plan for the transport of those passengers.
Additionally, the department said it is still "closely tracking the hantavirus outbreak" on the MV Hondius and remains in "close contact" with the cruise ship staff and international health authorities.
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston
A woman in the Spanish province of Alicante has tested positive for a hantavirus infection, secretary of state for health, Javier Padilla, told reporters on Friday, according to Reuters.
The unidentified patient was a passenger on the same flight as the woman who died in South Africa after leaving the ship, according to Padilla.
-ABC News' Zoe Magee
