U.S. evacuee tests positive for Andean Hantavirus
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that one of 17 American citizens evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak has tested mildly positive for the Andean strain, while another passenger is showing mild symptoms, Agenzia Nova reports.
Both were flown back to the United States aboard a medical aircraft equipped with a biocontainment unit. The second case has not yet been confirmed.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), eight passengers on the MV Hondius have fallen ill, with six infections confirmed. A German citizen and a Dutch couple have died. The WHO noted that the Andean strain of hantavirus can cause severe lung disease with a mortality rate of up to 50%.
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist told France Inter radio that a French woman evacuated from the ship has also tested positive - the first case identified in France.
“Her condition worsened during the night,” Rist said, adding that the patient has been admitted to a hospital specializing in infectious diseases.
As reported before, passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which experienced an outbreak of the Andes hantavirus, are recommended undergoing a 42-day quarantine, according to WHO.