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Health authorities in France and the United States confirmed two additional passengers on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius tested positive for the Hanta virus as evacuation efforts for about 90 passengers neared completion, according to AFP and Reuters.
France’s Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said one French passenger tested positive for the Andes variant of the Hanta virus and that the patient’s condition was deteriorating. The individual showed symptoms during an evacuation flight organized by the French government. Four other French passengers on the same flight tested negative but were expected to be re-tested later.
In the United States, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said a U.S. citizen during evacuation from the cruise ship exhibited mild symptoms suspected to be Hanta virus infection. Another American tested positive for the Andes variant. Reuters reported that all U.S. citizens on the ship had boarded a special flight home, with two symptomatic passengers seated in a dedicated isolation cabin.
Five states—Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas and Virginia—said they are monitoring seven people who had left the ship earlier. Officials said none of the seven have shown signs of illness.
Under the request of the Canary Islands authorities, evacuation of foreign nationals from the cruise ship had to be completed on May 11 (local time), after which the ship departed. Spain confirmed that no mice or other hosts carrying the Hanta virus were found aboard the vessel.
Photographs and captions from France and Spain indicated the repatriation operation proceeded “as planned.” On the first evacuation day, 94 passengers from 19 nationalities were evacuated. At docking time, the vessel carried 147 people, including 87 passengers and 60 crew members from 24 countries.
Regarding the outbreak scale, the World Health Organization (WHO) said six cases have been confirmed and two are suspected. Fatalities included a Dutch couple: the husband died aboard the ship, while the wife died after disembarking at Saint Helena in the Atlantic to accompany her husband’s body.
Countries reported completing additional tracing for 82 passengers and six crew members on the Airlink flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, on which the wife was present.
UK health authorities said two British nationals were confirmed infected with the Hanta virus, with one additional suspected case involving a British national who left the ship at Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic.
Canary Islands authorities said a 42-day quarantine is recommended and monitoring should continue, with each country setting its own measures. Greece requires a 45-day hospital quarantine in Athens. Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Greece have chosen 45 days.
Australia and France announced minimum surveillance periods of two and three weeks respectively, with possible extension.
The United States said 17 passengers may not require mandatory institutional quarantine and could be allowed to return home depending on medical assessment, provided they do not transmit the illness to others during travel. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that this approach could carry risks.
WHO said early diagnosis of Hanta virus infection can be difficult because initial symptoms resemble other febrile or respiratory illnesses, including flu, COVID-19, viral pneumonia, leptospirosis, dengue fever and septicemia. The organization said careful medical history taking is essential, including attention to potential exposure to rodents, occupational and environmental risks, travel history and contact with confirmed cases in areas where the Hanta virus is present.
Laboratory confirmation relies on serology to detect IgM antibodies specific to Hantavirus or rising IgG, as well as molecular methods such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) during the acute phase when viral RNA can be detected in blood.
On May 11 in Geneva, Olivier Le Polain, head of WHO’s Epidemiology and Data Analytics unit serving the response, said infected people typically begin to show symptoms about three weeks after infection. A senior WHO official emphasized isolating those with potential exposure promptly rather than waiting for symptoms to appear, adding that the virus’s long incubation period means cases may reappear in a few days or even weeks.
In Vietnam, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) said several agencies have reported capacity to test for Hanta virus. NIHE currently conducts five rapid tests and confirmatory diagnostics, including rapid tests for detecting IgG antibodies to Hantavirus; ELISA for detecting IgM antibodies; ELISA for detecting IgG antibodies; RT-PCR for detecting Hantavirus RNA; and sequencing to identify the virus.
NIHE director Hoang Minh Duc, head of the Department of Disease Prevention, said NIHE has full capacity to test for Hanta virus, including personnel, equipment and medical supplies.
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