Dutch hospital quarantines 12 staff members after hantavirus exposure

Twelve employees at the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, have been placed under a six-week quarantine after coming into contact with a patient infected with hantavirus.

Hospital officials said the exposure occurred after enhanced biosafety protocols were not fully followed during the collection and handling of biological materials from the infected patient, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The hospital stressed that the risk of infection remains low, but said the quarantine measure was introduced as a precaution in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The infected patient, identified as a crew member of the cruise ship MV Hondius, was transferred to Nijmegen after developing symptoms associated with the virus and is currently being kept in isolation.

According to the WHO, the outbreak linked to the MV Hondius has resulted in nine confirmed cases of hantavirus infection and three deaths since it began.

Hantavirus is primarily transmitted through contact with rodents or exposure to contaminated rodent urine, droppings or saliva. In humans, the virus can cause severe respiratory and kidney-related illnesses and may be life-threatening in some cases.

By Sabina Mammadli