Hantavirus case confirmed in France after cruise ship evacuation sparks health alert

Logo
Sites
Europe 11-05-2026 | 11:01

Hantavirus case confirmed in France after cruise ship evacuation sparks health alert

Authorities track 22 contacts as a quarantined passenger’s condition worsens, prompting urgent government response meetings in Paris.

Annahar
Save Icon
Hantavirus case confirmed in France after cruise ship evacuation sparks health alert
Virus. (Illustrative)
Smaller Bigger

 

Tests have confirmed that a French passenger evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius is infected with hantavirus, Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced on Monday, noting that 22 contact cases have been recorded within France.

 

 

British citizens, who were returned home after a long stay on a cruise ship that had a deadly hantavirus outbreak, arrive by bus at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, North West England. (AFP)
British citizens, who were returned home after a long stay on a cruise ship that had a deadly hantavirus outbreak, arrive by bus at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral, North West England. (AFP)

 

 

Among the five French nationals brought back to Paris and placed in quarantine, the minister told France Inter radio that a woman's condition “unfortunately deteriorated last night” and that “tests showed she was infected.”

 

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is scheduled to hold another meeting on the matter this afternoon.

Tags
France ، Hantavirus ، cruise ship ، health alert ، infection ، quarantine