2 passengers, French and American, test positive for hantavirus after cruise ship evacuation

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A French pistillate evacuated from a cruise vessel has tested affirmative for hantavirus and her wellness worsened successful the infirmary overnight, French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Monday.

The pistillate was among 5 French passengers repatriated Sunday to Paris from the MV Hondius. She developed symptoms connected the formation to Paris, Rist told nationalist broadcaster France-Inter.

One the 17 American passengers evacuated from the vessel and flown to Nebraska besides tested affirmative for the hantavirus but is not showing immoderate symptoms, and different had mild symptoms, U.S. wellness officials said precocious Sunday. The formation landed successful the aboriginal hours of Monday morning.

The Americans would archetypal beryllium taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which has a federally funded quarantine facility, to measure whether they person been successful adjacent interaction with immoderate symptomatic radical and their hazard levels for spreading the virus.

The aesculapian schoolhouse besides has a peculiar portion for treating radical with highly infectious diseases that was utilized aboriginal successful the pandemic for COVID-19 patients and antecedently for Ebola patients.

Passengers from the vessel began flying location aboard subject and authorities planes Sunday aft the vas anchored successful the Canary Islands. Personnel successful full-body protective cogwheel and breathing masks had escorted the travelers from vessel to enactment successful Tenerife successful an effort that was continuing Monday.

The World Health Organization recommended adjacent monitoring of the erstwhile passengers, and galore countries quarantined them.

Earlier, officials from the Spanish Health Ministry, the World Health Organization and the cruise institution Oceanwide Expeditions had said nary of the much than 140 radical who were past connected the Hondius had shown symptoms of the virus.

All of the passengers were escorted Sunday from the vessel to enactment by unit successful full-body protective cogwheel and breathing masks. The planes arriving successful Tenerife were to alert retired passengers from much than 20 countries successful an evacuation effort that was moving into Monday.

Three radical person died since the outbreak began, and 5 radical who near the vessel earlier were infected.

Health officials accidental hazard to nationalist is low

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that the wide nationalist should not beryllium disquieted astir the outbreak. “This is not different COVID. And the hazard to the nationalist is low. So they shouldn’t beryllium scared, and they shouldn’t panic," helium said Sunday.

Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easy transmitted betwixt people. But the Andes microorganism detected successful the cruise vessel outbreak whitethorn beryllium capable to dispersed betwixt radical successful uncommon cases. Symptoms usually amusement betwixt 1 and 8 weeks aft exposure.

WHO is recommending that passengers’ location countries “have progressive monitoring and follow-up, which means regular wellness checks, either astatine location oregon successful a specialized facility,” said Maria van Kerkhove, the organization’s apical epidemiologist.

Numerous countries person said their radical volition beryllium quarantined oregon hospitalized for observation.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.