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Three Confirmed Hantavirus Cases Among Evacuated MV Hondius Passengers, HHS Reports
One American tested positive for hantavirus but showed no symptoms while another had mild symptoms after being evacuated from the MV Hondius, which has been linked to three deaths. A French woman who was among five compatriots repatriated tested positive and is in serious condition in a Paris hospital.
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One of 17 American citizens evacuated from the MV Hondius tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus while remaining asymptomatic, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A second American showed symptoms. Both individuals traveled in the plane’s biocontainment unit before landing early Monday morning in Nebraska.
The positive American passenger was transported to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The remaining passengers went to the National Quarantine Unit for assessment and monitoring.
One of five French passengers evacuated from the vessel has tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated in a specialized infectious diseases unit at Bichat hospital in Paris, according to French authorities. France24 reported that this marked France’s first hantavirus case.
The French Health Minister’s office stated the woman developed symptoms while flying. French authorities identified 22 additional contact cases among French nationals, some linked to earlier flights from Saint Helena to Johannesburg and Johannesburg to Amsterdam.
The Dutch woman who died had been on one of those flights.
Three passengers from the MV Hondius have died since the outbreak began: a Dutch couple and a German woman. The ship, which departed from Argentina in April, had more than 100 people of 23 nationalities aboard. On Sunday, 94 people of 19 nationalities were evacuated from the Dutch-flagged vessel at the industrial port of Granadilla.
They boarded Spanish army buses for Tenerife South airport before boarding repatriation flights. Personnel in full-body protective gear escorted travelers from the vessel to shore in Tenerife. The ship is expected to depart for the Netherlands with about 30 crew members after refueling.
