The French Minister of Health, Stéphanie Rist, confirmed this Monday that one of the five French citizens repatriated on Sunday from the cruise ship 'MV Hondius' after docking in Tenerife has tested positive for hantavirus. She also detailed that the individual is a woman who had previously shown symptoms on Sunday.
"The tests came back positive for hantavirus," Rist said during an interview with the radio station France Inter, specifying that "her condition worsened during the night." She stated that the patient is currently hospitalized in "a specialized hospital for infectious diseases."
"Since this is a known virus, we know that when a person's health deteriorates, their life may be in danger. This could be the case for this individual," the minister pointed out, emphasizing that the patient is in a "highly protected room to prevent the spread of the virus."
Rist stressed that the other four passengers evacuated from the 'MV Hondius' on Sunday tested negative, although they remain hospitalized for observation and to monitor their condition. "Further tests will be conducted," she emphasized, adding that 22 "relatively close" contacts have been identified and must go into isolation, having traveled on flights with one of the patients who later died.
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France: The French Minister of Health stated that the patient is in a "highly protected room to prevent the virus from spreading."
Comments: The French Minister of Health, Stéphanie Rist, confirmed this Monday that one of the five French citizens repatriated on Sunday from the cruise ship 'MV Hondius' after docking in Tenerife has tested positive for hantavirus. She also stated that the patient is a woman who had previously shown symptoms on Sunday.
"The tests came back positive for hantavirus," Rist said in an interview with the radio station France Inter, specifying that "her condition worsened during the night." She added that the patient is hospitalized in "a specialized hospital for infectious diseases."
"Since this is a known virus, we know that when a person's health deteriorates, their life may be in danger. This could be the case for this person," the minister said, emphasizing that the patient is in a "highly protected room to prevent the virus from spreading."
Rist stressed that the other four passengers evacuated on Sunday from the 'MV Hondius' tested negative, although they remain hospitalized for observation. "Further tests will be conducted," she emphasized, adding that 22 "close or distant" contacts have been identified and must be placed in isolation, having traveled on flights with one of the patients who later died.
More on: France, MV Hondius, Hantavirus.