Symptomatic passenger triggers tighter hantavirus measures

French authorities are responding to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius after one of five French passengers repatriated to France on May 10 showed symptoms of the illness during the flight, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced. The infected individual is among three deaths and multiple sick passengers from the ship, which triggered an international evacuation effort. The five French passengers were immediately placed in strict isolation upon landing at Le Bourget airport near Paris and transported under police escort to Bichat Hospital, Paris's reference center for infectious diseases. Health Minister Stephanie Rist confirmed that test results for the symptomatic passenger would be available within 24 hours, while noting the symptoms "may potentially be compatible with hantavirus." The World Health Organization has classified all former MV Hondius passengers as "high-risk" contacts requiring 42 days of medical supervision. The Andes virus, the only hantavirus type capable of person-to-person transmission, has been confirmed among those who tested positive, fueling international concern. Prime Minister Lecornu convened an emergency meeting with key ministers to discuss care protocols and prepare a decree authorizing mandatory quarantine measures to protect public health. Evacuation flights from Tenerife, where the ship was anchored off the Spanish island, continued throughout May 10, carrying former passengers to Britain, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United States. The original repatriation plan called for 72 hours of observation followed by 45 days of home isolation under medical supervision, though tighter measures may now be implemented following the symptomatic case. French health experts have sought to reassure the public, emphasizing that the risk of the outbreak developing into a generalized epidemic remains very low and that the situation is not comparable to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.