A French woman and anAmerican nationalevacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship which is at the centre of a deadlyhantavirus outbreakhave now tested positive for the virus. The French woman was one of the five French nationals who disembarked from the cruise ship inTenerifeon Sunday. The French health minister, Stéphanie Rist, said on Monday on France Inter that the woman was in a serious condition.

She said that her "condition has unfortunately deteriorated" in the night after she was placed in isolation at Hôpital Bichat inParis. The health minister added that the five passengers who have been repatriated toFranceare being treated at the hospital in rooms with air flow systems designed to prevent infection.

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She said they are all "of course" in isolation at the hospital and will remain there until further notice for at least 15 days.

Rist said the four other passengers from the ship tested negative but will be re-tested. Health authorities said they have so far identified 22hantaviruscontact cases in France.

One of the 17 US citizens evacuated from the cruise ship has now also tested positive, US officials have confirmed. The passengers took a medical repatriation flight to Nebraska.

The US health department added that another American national who was evacuated from the ship had "mild symptoms."

Both passengers travelled "in the plane’s biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution." In its statement early on Monday, the US Department of Health and Human Services said all 17 on the flight will "will undergo clinical assessment" in Nebraska.

The statement on X (formerlyTwitter) reads: HHS through @ASPRgov and @CDCgov is supporting @StateDept in the repatriation of 17 American citizens from the MV Hondius cruise ship affected by the Andes variant of hantavirus. All 17 are currently en route via @StateDept airlift to the United States, with two of the passengers travelling in the plane's biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution.

Source: Daily Express :: World Feed