A French passenger, repatriated from the MV Hondius cruise ship, tested positive for hantavirus, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced on May 11, 2026, also reporting 22 contact cases identified in France.
Among the cruise ship passengers already evacuated, an American and this French woman tested positive for hantavirus, against which there is no vaccine or treatment and which can cause acute respiratory syndrome.
Read also What is the hantavirus infection that reportedly killed three people on a cruise ship?
Of the five French citizens repatriated to Paris, one woman's health has deteriorated.
The crisis on board the MV Hondius, which is due to leave for the Netherlands on Monday, has raised concerns, reviving memories of the Covid pandemic, even though at this stage the World Health Organization (WHO) only lists six confirmed cases of hantavirus among eight suspected cases, including three people who have died from this known but rare virus.
Of the five French citizens repatriated and placed in isolation in Paris, the health of one woman has deteriorated. unfortunately deteriorated last night and the tests came back positive", said the French Minister of Health on the radio France Inter.
The five passengers are hospitalized in rooms with airflow systems designed to prevent contamination" , "They are obviously isolated in this hospital and will remain there until further notice.""At least 15 days," she added.
Regarding contact cases, she confirmed that around twenty French citizens had been identified: eight among the passengers of the April 25th flight between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, who were quickly placed in isolation", and 14 on board the Johannesburg-Amsterdam flight.
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14 passengers from the flights Johannesburg-Amsterdam wanted
“ We ask "to these 14 passengers" that they contact us because we need to be able to reinforce the isolation", said Stéphanie Rist.
A Dutch cruise passenger infected with the virus, who has since died, had traveled on the Saint Helena-Johannesburg flight. She had also briefly boarded the plane to Amsterdam, but ultimately did not travel on that flight.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will hold a new meeting "Monday afternoon" to closely monitor the evolving situation "on the hantavirus," announced government spokesperson Maud Bregeon.
“ We are monitoring the situation with the utmost vigilance, given that we know this virus, hence the 42-day isolation period that has been decided upon, and our objective remains the same: to protect the French people." she added on BFMTV.
She called for " do not create panic" , " We are absolutely not at the stage of having those discussions. "as during the Covid-19 epidemic."
The variant of the virus detected on board the MV Hondius ship, the Andes hantavirus, is a rare strain that can be transmitted from human to human with an incubation period of up to six weeks.
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