WHO says 11 total hantavirus cases reported from cruise ship
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- A French woman infected with hantavirus from a cruise ship outbreak is critically ill and receiving life-support via an artificial lung at Bichat Hospital in Paris; the outbreak has 11 reported cases, 9 confirmed.
- Three people, including a Dutch couple believed to have been first exposed in South America, have died; the MV Hondius cruise ship has been evacuated and is returning to the Netherlands for disinfection.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) reports no signs of a larger outbreak yet but warns more cases may appear due to the virus's long incubation period; a Spanish passenger recently tested positive and is quarantined in Madrid.
- Argentina is sending experts to investigate the outbreak's origin, focusing on locations visited by the Dutch couple, including a landfill potentially harboring infected rodents.
- Twelve staff at a Dutch hospital were quarantined after mishandling bodily fluids from an infected patient, though the infection risk is considered low; WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine for returning passengers.