French national from hantavirus ship develops symptoms; five placed in quarantine in Paris

France's prime minister announced at a press conference in Paris on Monday that five French passengers returning from MV Hondius had been placed in quarantine 'until further notice' at a medical centre in the capital. One of those passengers has developed symptoms typical of hantavirus; the four others have no symptoms but are under protective quarantine because of close contact.

The symptomatic passenger is reported to be in their fifties; the principal complaints are high fever, muscle pain and shortness of breath. The patient is being treated at the Necker Hospital infectious diseases unit. Public Health France said an initial PCR test had returned a 'reactive' result and that the results of confirmatory testing would be shared within the next 48 hours.

After Andes hantavirus was detected on MV Hondius on 19 April, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control had recommended a six-week self-isolation protocol for returning passengers. Symptomatic individuals were to be isolated promptly within that window. France was one of the first EU member states to formally adopt the protocol.

The French health minister said 28 French nationals who had returned from the ship had been registered and were being monitored by daily telephone call. The minister described the patient as 'the highest-risk case observed to date' and said colleagues across government would be briefed on the process.

Andes hantavirus is known as the only member of the virus family considered to carry a rare potential for human-to-human transmission. Transmission is generally by respiratory droplet or direct contact with mucous membranes. The risk is higher within households, and French authorities have therefore tested the symptomatic patient's family members as well.

French academic Dr Béatrice Lavoisier told Le Monde: 'The management of this case is a test of our country's post-2020 health operations capacity.' Lavoisier highlighted the lack of a consistent EU-wide protocol on rapid access rights for patients identified in the MV Hondius cases.

Lawyers for the five quarantined passengers, in a statement passed to Le Figaro, said their clients questioned the legal basis of the protective quarantine. French law permits public-health quarantine for three days on a ministerial order; longer periods require court approval. The Health Ministry confirmed it was operating within procedure.

France announced an area-based programme of rodent control alongside the MV Hondius follow-up protocol. The measure is presented as a step to reduce the risk of a domestic-origin hantavirus case within the country. France has historically reported very few hantavirus cases; fewer than six in the past decade.

On communication with neighbouring states, the Health Ministry added that daily information-sharing channels with Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy had been opened. The Netherlands had set up a separate committee to assess additional risks attributable to crew members in light of information about US and British passengers on the vessel.

Public Health France said it would share the position reached within the next 72 hours. If confirmatory testing returns positive, France will become the tenth country to report a confirmed hantavirus case from this outbreak; with the United States case removed from the count, the global total would return to 11.