The hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship continues to add new cases under international surveillance. France has confirmed a new positive case among passengers repatriated from Tenerife after one of the five French citizens evacuated from the ship presented symptoms compatible with the disease during the flight to Paris.
French authorities are keeping the five passengers transferred from the Canary Islands isolated while medical evaluations and epidemiological surveillance continue. The affected passenger began to feel unwell during the air journey and subsequent tests confirmed the infection, according to information released by the French Government and various local media.
The case occurs just hours after United States also reported a "mild" positive PCR for the Andes strain of hantavirus among US citizens evacuated from the cruise ship. Another American passenger presents compatible symptoms and both are being transferred to specialized isolation and treatment facilities.
The situation keeps international health protocols activated around the ship, which arrived in Tenerife after several days of uncertainty and after various international organizations coordinated the disembarkation and repatriation of passengers of 19 nationalities.
Health isolation and monitoring
French authorities have indicated that the five evacuated citizens remain in isolation and under medical supervision. Some French media reported that the group was transferred to the Bichat hospital in Paris after landing from Tenerife South.
The new positive case also arrives after France had initiated days ago the tracking of a person who shared a flight with one of the infected individuals previously evacuated from the cruise ship to Johannesburg. At that time, French health authorities clarified that there was no confirmed contagion outside the ship, although contact tracing was being carried out as a precaution.
The international operation deployed in Tenerife has involved continuous medical checks, specific transfers, and preventive quarantines for passengers considered close contacts. As reported by the Ministry of Health, the evacuations have been carried out through protocols coordinated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
During the weekend, dozens of people were repatriated from the port of Granadilla, in Tenerife, after the boat received authorization to dock under strong health security measures. Spanish authorities have defended at all times that the operation was being carried out without risk to the population.
An outbreak under international surveillance
The outbreak detected on the MV Hondius has caused a wide international health mobilization since the first cases began to appear during the cruise.
The WHO has indicated that several confirmed and suspected infections related to the Andes strain of hantavirus, considered the only variant with documented human-to-human transmission capability, are being investigated. Among those affected are passengers evacuated to different countries and several deaths recorded in recent weeks.
The cruise ship had departed from Argentina last March and subsequently remained off Cape Verde while the international response to the outbreak was organized.
In parallel to the evacuations, different countries have activated epidemiological surveillance systems on passengers and close contacts. France, Switzerland, and the United States are among the states that have confirmed specific checks linked to the ship.
The United States reported this Monday a "mild positive" in one of the 17 citizens evacuated from Tenerife, while another passenger presents mild symptoms compatible with the disease. Both are being transferred to specialized facilities in Nebraska for medical evaluation and isolation.
The ship will set course for Rotterdam
After most repatriations are completed, Spanish authorities expect that the MV Hondius will leave Tenerife for Rotterdam, where the ship will undergo cleaning and disinfection tasks.
The Minister of Health, Mónica García, assured this Monday that the operation developed in the Canary Islands had been carried out with "normalcy and safety", after several days marked by coordination between governments, international organizations and health teams.
Authorities maintain, however, surveillance over passengers and contacts due to the incubation period associated with the disease. International protocols remain active as epidemiological investigations advance to determine the definitive scope of the hantavirus outbreak and the possible transmission chain within the cruise ship.