All the people identified in France as contact cases of the Dutch woman who died from hantavirus have tested negative, a " good news "faced with the risk of the virus spreading across the territory. "All the contact cases of a person positive for hantavirus, present in France"", have been" tested negative, without exception" announced on May 14th the Minister of Health, Stéphanie Rist, on the X platform.
“ As a precautionary measure against a disease whose lethality is estimated between 30 and 40% and which has a long incubation period"These 26 people are" all placed in hospital isolation" , And " will continue to be medically monitored and tested 3 times a week" she added.
These 26 people can still develop the virus if they are carriers, as its maximum incubation period is estimated at 42 days. However, the negative tests confirm that it has not developed in them so far. And they indicate, based on current knowledge, that they have never been contagious.
"This is very good news," Karine Lacombe, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Saint-Antoine Hospital (Paris), told AFP. Even if they were to test positive later, they could not have infected anyone beforehand."The infectious disease specialist explained. And given that they..." are all currently isolated"They will not transmit the virus if they ever develop the disease."
"Very low" risk
The 26 close contacts were hospitalized in various hospitals in France. Eight of them flew from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on April 25th, on the same plane as a Dutch passenger from the Hondius who had tested positive for the virus. Fourteen other close contacts boarded the Johannesburg-Amsterdam flight that the Dutch passenger had tried unsuccessfully to take.
Five passengers from the Hondius are hospitalized at Bichat Hospital in Paris. Four of them are doing well and have tested negative, but one woman developed the virus and is in intensive care in serious condition. The five passengers had been repatriated by special medical aircraft from the Canary Islands, where the Hondius had disembarked all its passengers.
From now on, health authorities will no longer communicate on the results of contact cases, except in the event of a positive test, the minister specified. According to Ms. Lacombe, the risk of a new outbreak emerging is " extremely low", although"a risk, by definition" , not be " never zero" . " It's a virus that isn't transmitted very much from person to person. " And " In all European countries, somewhat similar measures have been taken." , even if " Some countries have been less firm" she emphasized.
While France had demanded a " closer coordination Regarding health protocols in European Union countries, the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU announced on Thursday the strengthening of its information exchange mechanism between the 27 member states. According to the data available to date, the EU considers the risk to the general population in Europe to be " is very weak", added the Cypriot presidency, particularly because of " appropriate infection prevention and control measures“.
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