Hantavirus case sparks strict quarantine measures in France

France has enacted strict measures to curb the spread of hantavirus after one of five passengers repatriated from an infected cruise ship tested positive, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist confirmed.

Under a decree passed today, the passengers, as well as anyone who has been in contact with them or others deemed at “serious risk of infection,” may face up to 42 days of isolation, POLITICO reports.

The French national tested positive for hantavirus on May 11, after being evacuated on May 10 from the virus-stricken ship at the centre of the outbreak. “The woman began to feel unwell on the repatriation flight on May 10 night, after the ship docked in Tenerife, Spain,” Le Figaro reported. The remaining passengers will undergo re-testing, Rist said. All five passengers are currently in isolation in Paris.

Meanwhile, one of the 17 US citizens repatriated from the ship has also tested positive, and another is showing symptoms, the US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked Spain and other authorities for swiftly disembarking the passengers, noting that European institutions are working “hand in hand” with health agencies to manage the evacuation.

World Health Organization officials warned last week that further cases could emerge as authorities test passengers and contacts for the virus. The ship, operated by Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, carried 77 Europeans, according to a statement from the operator on May 4. WHO emphasized that the outbreak does not pose a health risk on the scale of Covid-19.

Hantavirus is typically spread by infected rodents, but the variant involved in this outbreak, the Andes subtype, is the only known form to transmit between humans. Three people who were on the cruise have died after contracting the virus.

By Vafa Guliyeva