National Quarantine Unit
Federally funded quarantine facility in Omaha, Nebraska
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Quarantine Unit (NQU) is a federally funded quarantine and isolation facility in the United States located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska.
| Abbreviation | NQU |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2019 |
| Type | Quarantine and isolation facility |
| Purpose | Monitoring and care of people exposed to high-consequence infectious diseases |
| Headquarters | Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center |
| Location |
|
Parent organization | University of Nebraska Medical Center Global Center for Health Security |
It is part of UNMC's Global Center for Health Security and is housed within the Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center.
It is currently the only federally funded quarantine unit of its kind in the United States.[1][2]
The unit was designed to house and monitor people who may have been exposed to highly hazardous communicable diseases or other high-consequence pathogens.
History
The NQU was established as part of the Training, Simulation, and Quarantine Center (TSQC), a facility funded through a nearly $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. The TSQC opened in October 2019 and occupies a floor of the Davis Global Center on UNMC's Omaha campus.[1]
The Training, Simulation, and Quarantine Center includes the 20-bed National Quarantine Unit, a six-bed National Biocontainment Training Center, an emergency operations center, and training programs commissioned by HHS/ASPR for National Disaster Medical System and U.S. Public Health Service personnel.[1]
The unit enrolled its first students in November 2019. Within two months, the emergence of COVID-19 led to activation of the NQU and temporary suspension of in-person training activities at the TSQC.[1]
Facilities and operations
The NQU is intended for individuals who require quarantine monitoring after possible exposure to high-consequence infectious diseases. According to UNMC, its rooms are single occupancy and use individual negative air pressure systems. The facility is staffed by an all-volunteer team of nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals who undergo quarterly training in specialized infection prevention and control processes and participate in exercises and drills.[1]
The NQU is located near the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, a separate specialized treatment facility at Nebraska Medicine and UNMC for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases. The Nebraska Biocontainment Unit was dedicated in 2005 and has been used to care for patients with diseases such as Ebola virus disease and COVID-19.[3]
The NQU has 20 single-occupancy rooms, each with an en suite bathroom and individual negative air pressure system. Rooms also include exercise equipment and Wi-Fi connectivity for individuals requiring longer stays.[2]
Activations and public health responses
Ebola preparedness and biocontainment context
The National Quarantine Unit did not open until 2019. Nebraska's earlier Ebola response was carried out through the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, which treated patients during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. UNMC has cited that response as a major part of the institutional experience that later supported its national quarantine and special-pathogen preparedness programs.[4][3]
COVID-19 pandemic
The NQU was activated during the early response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In February 2020, 57 Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, were quarantined at Camp Ashland, a Nebraska National Guard facility near Omaha. Nebraska Medicine reported that one person from that group was transported to the National Quarantine Unit on the Nebraska Medical Center/UNMC campus for evaluation and testing; the person later tested negative for COVID-19.[5]
Later in February 2020, the U.S. government repatriated American passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. HHS testimony stated that more than 300 U.S. citizens and family members were repatriated and that 14 passengers had tested positive for COVID-19 before the evacuation flight. Those passengers were isolated in a specialized containment area on the aircraft during transport.[6] UNMC later stated that, in February 2020, the NQU and Nebraska Biocontainment Unit were used to receive and care for Americans evacuated from Wuhan and passengers from the Diamond Princess.[4]
2026 Andes virus cruise ship outbreak
In May 2026, Nebraska Medicine and UNMC announced that they had been asked by federal partners to receive and monitor U.S. citizens from a cruise ship associated with an outbreak of Andes virus, a type of hantavirus. UNMC stated that the individuals would be observed in the National Quarantine Unit on the Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC campus.[3]
The World Health Organization reported that the outbreak was linked to travel on a Dutch-flagged cruise ship and involved severe acute respiratory illness among passengers. WHO identified the virus as Andes virus and stated that, although hantavirus infections are usually acquired through exposure to infected rodents, limited human-to-human transmission has been reported in previous Andes virus outbreaks, typically involving close or prolonged contact.[7][8]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that Andes virus is a type of hantavirus that can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and that it can spread through contact with rodents, contaminated objects, or, rarely, close contact with a sick person infected with the virus.[9] The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services stated that there was no threat to public safety.[10]