Paris, May 11 (IANS). A French woman aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, affected by Hanta virus, has also become infected. French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Monday that a French woman who traveled on the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius was found infected while returning to France.
The woman was one of five French citizens who were evacuated from a cruise ship and sent back to France on Sunday. While bringing him back, he showed signs of infection with the virus.
Rist said the woman’s condition deteriorated overnight and she was transferred to a specialized infectious disease hospital for treatment.
The health minister also said that 22 close contacts of hantavirus cases in France have been identified and ordered to isolate.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday that five French citizens aboard the Hantavirus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius returned to France, one of whom showed symptoms while being brought back.
Lecornu said on social media platform X that the five French passengers arrived in France on a medical evacuation flight on Sunday afternoon and were immediately placed in strict isolation until further notice.
He also said that he is getting medical facilities. Their tests and health assessments will be done.
According to the World Health Organization, hantaviruses are deadly zoonotic viruses that usually infect rats and sometimes spread to humans. Infection in people can cause serious illness and often death. However, these diseases vary according to the type and location of the virus.
In the United States, infection causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a progressive disease that affects the lungs and heart, while in Europe and Asia, hantavirus causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), which primarily affects the kidneys and blood vessels.
There is no specific cure for hantavirus disease, but early supportive medical care is important to improve the chances of survival. It focuses on close clinical monitoring and management of respiratory, heart and kidney problems. Prevention largely depends on reducing contact between people and infected rats.
Hantavirus is spread to humans through contact with dirty urine, droppings or saliva of infected rats. Infection can also be caused by rat bites, although this is not common. Jobs that involve exposure to rats, such as cleaning closed or poorly ventilated areas, farming, forestry work, and sleeping in rat-infested homes, increase the risk of exposure.
–IANS
KK/ABM
