Spanish national positive for hantavirus starts to show symptoms

A Spanish citizen in quarantine in the Gómez Ulla military hospital in Madrid has tested positive for hantavirus after being evacuated from the cruise ship.

Initially, on Monday, they had not shown any symptims, but on Tuesday morning they have begun to feel respiratory issues and a slight fever.

The passenger of the MV Hondius, who is not a resident of Catalonia, was isolated after they tested positive in the PCR that was carried out when they arrived at the health center.

They are now awaiting the definitive results.

Despite feeling some symptims, they are in an "apparently stable” state, according to sources from the Health Ministry, and does not present an “obvious clinical deterioration.”

This comes after France and the United States each confirmed one hantavirus case among repatriated passengers, with US authorities also reporting another passenger with mild symptoms.

If initial PCR tests are negative, passengers will undergo a second round of testing after seven days. They are expected to remain in quarantine at the military hospital during that period unless circumstances change.

WHO predicts more positive cases

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, acknowledged that “there will certainly be more positive cases” of the hantavirus in the coming days.

“The incubation period is six to eight weeks and, since the passengers were interacting on the ship before measures were taken to prevent contagion, we would expect more cases,” he said in a press conference alongside Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez in the Spanish government buildings.

“The WHO assessment is that the risk to global health remains low. We now have 11 cases, three deaths, and the cases have occurred among passengers and crew members of the ship," he explained "Nine of the 11 have tested positive for hantavirus, and the other two probably will too. These are figures that have not changed much in the last week thanks to the efforts of many governments.” 

He also thanked Spain for its “leadership” in managing the outbreak.

Adhanom recalled that since May 2, there has been no death from hantavirus, and all suspected cases are isolated under “strict” medical supervision that minimizes the risk of any transmission. “Right now there is nothing to suggest that there is a major outbreak, but the situation could change, and considering that we are dealing with a virus with a very long incubation period, it is possible to detect more cases in weeks,” he said.

As the head of the world health organization highlighted, the responsibility for monitoring and isolating passengers now falls on their countries of origin.

He also detailed that there are some with suspected symptoms, so he recommended “strict supervision,” either at home or in quarantine facilities, starting on May 10 and ending on June 21. “Anyone with symptoms must be treated and isolated,” he demanded.