The French Ministry of Health reported that the Pasteur Institute's National Center for Hantavirus Control confirmed a new case of hantavirus infection that may be transmissible between humans.
A man who initially presented with minor symptoms and is now asymptomatic was isolated with his family in Spain following a tourist trip to France. Authorities are reconstructing the patient's movements to identify possible contacts and determine necessary public health measures.
The Ministry specified that a group of scientific experts, together with the French General Directorate of Health and Public Health, met today to decide on the actions and management measures to be taken regarding this imported case. Furthermore, French authorities announced coordination at the European level.
The Ministry has not yet established a link between this new case, found in a traveler from France and Argentina, and the hantavirus outbreak registered in the spring on the cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed from Argentina in April, resulting in three deaths and at least 13 infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared this outbreak over in early July after the last affected person was discharged from quarantine.
Hantaviruses are usually transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their secretions; the Andean variant is being closely monitored by health authorities due to its potential for human-to-human transmission. Currently, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment, so cases are treated primarily with supportive care.
Today, the French Ministry of Health also announced that a French citizen who contracted the virus during the MV Hondius outbreak was discharged from the intensive care unit of a Paris hospital after nearly three months. This retired woman was repatriated in May in serious condition along with four other French citizens who did not fall ill and has now been moved to a recovery ward.
French authorities emphasized that currently, no connection has been found between the new case identified in the traveler from France and Argentina and the outbreak that occurred on the ship.