A French passenger evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship started showing symptoms of hantavirus on a repatriation flight on Sunday afternoon, according to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
The passenger is flying home to France after the ship docked in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday morning. Lecornu said in a statement on X that the five French passengers “were immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice” and that he has issued “a decree to implement appropriate isolation measures for close contacts and to protect the general population.”
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Of the 17 American passengers on the MV Hondius, six have returned to the United States. A team of specialists was sent to the Canary Islands to evacuate the passengers. They are scheduled to quarantine at the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, for 42 days, according to acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya.
Bhattacharya downplayed fears that hantavirus could become like the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday, saying his message to the public is not to worry and that the CDC has been working very closely with international and domestic partners. Experts consider the virus to be less transmissible than other viruses.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that operates the MV Hondius, reported Thursday that the nations repatriating citizens are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Trump said Friday that the virus is “under very good control” and that “we have very good people studying it very closely.”
Hantaviruses are a family of pathogens spread by rodents such as mice through urine or droppings. When left untreated, the disease can cause low blood pressure and oxygen levels, and can result in death by organ failure. CDC guidance says there is no specific treatment for an infection, but that most deaths occur within 24 to 48 hours of developing cardiopulmonary trouble.
PASSENGERS DISEMBARK HANTAVIRUS-PLAGUED CRUISE SHIP OFF SPAIN’S CANARY ISLANDS
Of the 8 people diagnosed with the hantavirus, all have been diagnosed specifically with the Andes strain. It is the only strain that can be transmitted from person to person through close contact.
Three people have died during the outbreak.
