French doctors have confirmed a case of hantavirus infection in a female citizen evacuated from the cruise liner "MV Hondius".
France's Minister of Health, Stéphane Rist, gave a statement about this to the radio station "France Inter".
"Hantavirus tests have shown positive results," she said while talking about the woman who previously exhibited symptoms of the virus.
Stéphane Rist said that the woman was on the ship's deck along with several other French citizens. According to her, the passenger's condition worsened overnight after returning to France by plane on May 10:
"The patient is being treated in a hospital specialized in infectious diseases, where a number of protective measures have been taken in the wards to prevent the spread of the virus."
She added that authorities in France have identified 22 people who had contact with the person infected with hantavirus. Earlier, France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had promised that the government would take appropriate measures to protect the country's population from hantavirus.
It should be recalled that last week the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the spread of hantavirus on the "MV Hondius" cruise liner traveling from Argentina to Cabo Verde. Several cases of infection were recorded on the ship, and it was not possible to save the lives of three of those individuals.
On May 10, the ship arrived at the port of Tenerife island in Spain, after which the evacuation operation of passengers began. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the evacuation of people was planned in 10 flights. The first group of passengers, consisting of 14 Spanish citizens, was taken to a hospital in the capital city./oxu.az