The Netherlands quarantines 12 healthcare workers due to violations in handling hantavirus

THE HAGUE, May 12. /TASS/. Twelve employees of the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen in the Netherlands have been placed under a six-week quarantine due to a breach of safety protocols during contact with a patient infected with hantavirus, the Hart van Nederland news outlet reported. According to its information, the hospital acknowledged that existing safety protocols were not fully followed during the patient’s treatment. The report noted that the patient’s blood sample taken for analysis "due to the nature of the virus" should have been processed according to a stricter procedure. In addition, the hospital stated that the disposal of the patient’s biological materials was carried out "not in accordance with current international regulations." On May 7, the Radboud University Medical Center announced that a hantavirus test on one of the patients evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship yielded a positive result. The patient has been informed and is receiving appropriate treatment in one of the hospital’s wards. On the evening of May 11, the MV Hondius, on which a hantavirus outbreak occurred, departed from the port of Tenerife in the Canary Islands for the Netherlands. Eight people on board tested positive for hantavirus. Three passengers died, and one infected person is in critical condition at a hospital in Johannesburg. To prevent the infection from spreading further, passengers were instructed to remain in their cabins. However, the hantavirus incubation period can last several weeks, making it difficult to quickly identify new cases. In April, the Dutch-flagged cruise ship departed from Argentina’s Ushuaia and headed to its final destination, the Canary Islands. There were about 150 people on board, mostly citizens of the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, and the US.