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WHO Confirms 12th Hantavirus Case Linked to MV Hondius

The new case keeps hundreds of international contacts under prolonged monitoring because the Andes strain can rarely spread between people.

Overview

  • WHO said on Friday that a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife and was repatriated to the Netherlands tested positive and is isolating in hospital as a precaution.
  • The confirmation brings the total linked to the MV Hondius to 12 suspected or confirmed infections with three deaths and more than 600 contacts being followed in about 30 countries.
  • Dutch health officials said the positive test was confirmed by two laboratories and that everyone evacuated to the Netherlands receives weekly testing while under quarantine.
  • Radboud University Medical Center quarantined 12 staff for six weeks after possible exposure to patient blood and urine samples, triggering a biosafety review of sample handling.
  • Eighteen U.S. passengers remain in monitored quarantine at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha with no symptoms, and investigators are probing a likely rodent exposure in South America as the source.