Updates on hantavirus case hospitalised in France and contact cases
‘Risk is low’ - what experts say about the situation
Fears of a wider outbreak of hantavirus are rising in France. Archive photo shows crew members of the MV Hondius ship arrving in the Netherlands yesterday (May 11)
dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
Concerns over the threat of a hantavirus outbreak are rising in France.
Yesterday (May 11), health authorities confirmed that one of the five French nationals evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship has tested positive for the illness.
The other four are being quarantined for up to 42 days.
However, 22 further possible contact cases have been identified in France, with one reportedly transferred to a hospital in Brittany.
An emergency decree passed on May 10 requires anyone thought to have come into contact with infected individuals to report to local health authorities.
Despite France seeing around 100 cases of hantavirus per year on average, the ‘Andes strain’ at the centre of the cruise ship outbreak has an extremely high mortality rate of up to 50%.
Below, we cover the main updates on the case and France.
‘No circulation of virus’
A cabinet meeting took place this morning (May 12), followed by a press conference at 16:45 outlining the government’s response, led by France’s Health Minister Stéphanie Rist.
The minister said a “very thorough tracing operation” had been carried out immediately after the evacuation of infected passengers from the cruise ship, with all 22 identified contact cases tested.
She said that, at this stage, there were “no elements suggesting the circulation of the virus on national territory.”
She confirmed that all cases in France are directly linked to the cruise ship, with no indication of wider community transmission.
Ms Rist added that four French nationals evacuated from the ship were “doing well,” while the patient who tested positive remains in intensive care in a “severe condition.”
Updates on Friday (May 13) confirmed all 22 contact cases had been put into isolation.
Contact case taken to hospital in Brittany
One of the identified 22 contact cases was identified in Concarneau (Finistère), and taken to Rennes hospital, where there is a centre for infectious diseases. He does not live in the commune permanently and was only passing through, reports local media France Bleu.
He is said to have informed authorities himself that he was a contact case, following rules laid out in the new decree.
He does not present any symptoms of hantavirus, Ms Rist said, and he came into contact with an infected individual on a flight.
The wife of the first victim – a retired Dutch passenger thought to have been infected during an excursion in South America – initially disembarked the cruise ship, taking a KLM flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg (April 25) before attempting to board an onward flight, also KLM and also on April 25, to Amsterdam, unaware that she was infected.
She fell ill after boarding her second flight and was removed before take-off. She died shortly after in South Africa.
Decree passed requiring contact cases to report
In order to limit the potential spread of the Andes-strain hantavirus, an emergency decree has been passed requiring contact cases to declare themselves to the French authorities.
This applies mostly to any French national who boarded the ship between April 1 and May 10 (and disembarked before the outbreak was known), as well as the 22 nationals who came into contact with the now-deceased Dutch woman on the two flights mentioned above.
Eight of these contact cases were present on the flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, and the other 14 on the Johannesburg–Amsterdam leg.
The decree states that contact cases must report to local health authorities and observe “a home quarantine measure pending an assessment of their risk of infection.” This must take place within three days of notification, after which authorities can decide on further measures (hospital quarantine or continued isolation at home).
This isolation period cannot exceed 42 days, bringing total quarantine exposure to up to 45 days in some cases.
The decree also applies to individuals who believe they may have come into contact with infected persons linked to the ship.
Failure to comply may lead to fines of €1,500, rising to €3,750 for repeat offences. Driving licences may also be suspended for up to six months if vehicles are used to circumvent quarantine rules.
‘Risk is low’ – what experts say
Authorities continue to insist there is no need for wider panic.
France “should not have a large-scale hantavirus epidemic,” said infectologist Karine Lacombe to RTL, noting that the virus is well understood despite the limited exposure history of the Andes strain.
“The risk is low, and we are not anticipating a pandemic,” said World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to BFMTV. “The danger to the population is also low.” He added that further cases could still emerge in coming weeks due to incubation periods.
However, some experts caution that uncertainties remain over how the strain behaves in a European context. “No one can say whether this mutation has an impact on transmissibility or severity,” said Gilles Pialoux of Tenon Hospital.
