French and American MV Hondius Passengers Test Positive for Orthohantavirus

A French woman and an American national evacuated from the MV Hondius tested positive for orthohantavirus on Monday, adding new cases to a shipboard outbreak that has already killed three passengers. The French woman was flown to a hospital in Paris after disembarking in Tenerife on Sunday, while the American passenger was flown to Nebraska with 16 others.

French and American evacuations

Stéphanie Rist said the French woman was in serious condition and that she had started to feel very unwell on Sunday night. Rist also said 22 French nationals had been identified as having come into potential contact with the virus. In the United States, the health department said one American national evacuated from the ship had tested positive for the Andes strain, while another American national had mild symptoms.

Spain’s health ministry said passengers underwent a health check and had their temperatures taken when the ship arrived off Tenerife on Sunday. It also said the French woman who developed a fever on the evacuation flight had not had a high temperature when she was examined onboard the MV Hondius.

Spain’s evacuation operation

Spanish authorities described the evacuation as complex and unprecedented. Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks began escorting travellers from the ship to shore on Sunday, and five French passengers disembarked before being flown to Paris. By Monday, more than 100 people of 23 nationalities were being evacuated in less than 48 hours.

The MV Hondius departed from Argentina in April and is at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak. Hantavirus usually spreads among rodents, and health officials have said the risk for global public health is low. The Andes strain is the only hantavirus strain that is transmissible between humans.

French contact tracing

Maud Bregeon said French authorities were following the situation with the greatest vigilance and that a 42-day isolation period had been decided. She also said it was important not to spread a sense of panic. “We’re following the situation with the greatest vigilance, on the basis that it is a virus that we know, that a 42-day isolation period has been decided and the objective remains the same: protecting the French people.”

“Unfortunately, her symptoms worsened overnight.”