French passenger from hantavirus ship tests positive, health minister confirms

"A French woman repatriated from a cruise ship struck by hantavirus has tested positive with the rare disease, France's health minister said on Monday, in the country's first case since the outbreak. The woman, one of five French passengers flown back from the MV Hondius and placed in isolation in Paris, started to feel very unwell on Sunday night and "tests came back positive" , Health Minister Stéphanie Rist told the radio station France Inter."

"Twenty-two more French nationals had been identified as contact cases after being exposed to someone with the virus, Rist added. They included eight people who had travelled on an April 25th flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, and 14 more on a flight between Johannesburg and Amsterdam, she said."

"Three passengers from the MV Hondius - a Dutch couple and a German woman - have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents. The Dutch woman who died flew from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on April 25th, then briefly boarded a flight to Amsterdam the same day but was removed before takeoff. She died on April 26th in a Johannesburg hospital and later tested positive for hantavirus."

"No vaccines or specific treatments exist for hantavirus, which is endemic in Argentina, where the ship departed in April. But health officials have insisted that the risk for global public health is low and played down comparisons to the Covid-19 pandemic."

A French woman repatriated from the MV Hondius cruise ship tested positive for hantavirus, marking France’s first case since the outbreak. She was flown back with other French passengers and placed in isolation in Paris after becoming very unwell on Sunday night. Health officials identified 22 additional French contact cases exposed to someone with the virus, including travelers from flights between Saint Helena and Johannesburg and between Johannesburg and Amsterdam. Three passengers from the MV Hondius—a Dutch couple and a German woman—have died, and other passengers have fallen sick. The disease usually spreads among rodents, and no vaccines or specific treatments exist. Officials stated the risk to global public health is low.

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