French hantavirus patient critical after her symptoms dismissed as anxiety

A French passenger from the MV Hondius outbreak became critically ill after her symptoms were initially treated as stress and anxiety. The case has sharpened international concern as passengers, crew and exposed hospital staff remain under monitoring and quarantine.

In Short

• French woman became critically ill after reaching Paris from Canary Islands
• Doctors earlier linked her flu-like complaints to stress amid panic
• Andes hantavirus strain aboard the ship can spread between people

A French woman infected during the deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius is in critical condition after doctors initially believed her symptoms were linked to stress and anxiety rather than the rare virus spreading through the vessel.

The passenger’s condition sharply deteriorated after she disembarked from the virus-hit ship when it docked in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, according to a report by The Guardian.

She had earlier developed flu-like symptoms during the voyage but appeared to be recovering, leading doctors to suspect that her complaints were anxiety-related amid mounting panic on board.

“They were not thinking that these symptoms were compatible with hantavirus,” Spanish health minister Javier Padilla Bernldez said, as quoted by the New York Post.

“Because what she was telling [them] was [that she had] an episode of coughing some days ago that had disappeared, and what she was having at that moment was kind of like stress or anxiety or nervousness. So it was not catalogued [as hantavirus],” he said.

CONDITION WORSENED AFTER RETURN TO FRANCE

The woman was among five French passengers allowed to leave the ship on Sunday. She was later flown to a hospital in Paris, where her condition worsened overnight.

French health authorities said she remains in critical condition and is being treated in a specialised infectious disease unit.

The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has triggered growing international concern after the rare Andes strain of hantavirus spread among passengers. Unlike most hantavirus strains, the Andes variant can spread from person to person.

Three passengers have died so far, while dozens of others are being monitored for possible infection.

HOSPITAL STAFF QUARANTINED IN NETHERLANDS

As fears over transmission intensified, 12 hospital workers in the Netherlands were placed under quarantine after handling blood and urine samples from a hantavirus patient without full protective gear.

Officials at Radboudumc said the staff members would remain in quarantine for six weeks as a precautionary measure.

The hospital is located in the Dutch city of Nijmegen.

AMERICANS RETURNED UNDER QUARANTINE

The outbreak has also prompted emergency action in the US.

Eighteen American passengers were flown back to the country on Monday and placed under quarantine. One passenger who tested weakly positive for the virus has been admitted to a specialised biocontainment unit in Nebraska.

Health authorities across several countries are continuing to monitor passengers and crew linked to the cruise as concerns grow over the spread of the rare infection.

- Ends