The French authorities have placed eight people who were in contact with individuals diagnosed with hantavirus under quarantine for monitoring purposes.
One of those quarantined was a passenger on the plane carrying the infected patient. Although mild symptoms were observed in this person, the test result was negative. The other seven people in quarantine are reported to have had contact with a passenger who disembarked from the "MV Hondius" cruise ship, considered the source of the epidemic.
Medianews.az citing NOCOMMENT.az reports that five more French citizens on the ship are planned to be returned to the country within 24–48 hours after arriving at the Canary Islands. These individuals will be retested both when leaving the ship and after arriving in France. Official sources note that none of these persons currently exhibit any worrying symptoms. Those who show symptoms upon returning will be placed in specialized medical facilities, while asymptomatic individuals will be released home after further examinations.
On April 1, a total of eight people aboard the "MV Hondius" cruise ship, which departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, tested positive for hantavirus, three of whom have died.
There are approximately 150 people on the ship, including citizens of various countries such as the USA, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) warn that currently there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Andes hantavirus and the only effective method is early medical intervention. Nevertheless, WHO emphasized that this incident should not be considered the beginning of a new pandemic.