France Says 9 Cruise-Ship Hantavirus Cases Show No Clear Mutation Yet
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 12
France Says 9 Cruise-Ship Hantavirus Cases Show No Clear Mutation Yet
10 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 12
Stephanie Rist told France's National Assembly that full sequencing of the hantavirus from the MV Hondius is still incomplete, leaving officials unable to confirm whether the strain has mutated.
French authorities are nonetheless "rather reassured," and the WHO has said it sees no indication the strain is unusual beyond appearing on the cruise ship.
Nine cases have been confirmed and more are expected because passengers interacted before the virus was detected; the WHO has urged isolation of suspected cases.
The outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain, and French officials are consulting Argentina, where an outbreak involving the same strain ended in 2019.
The WHO said there is still no sign the shipboard cluster has spread into a wider outbreak.
With a deadly virus now in Europe, are current quarantine measures enough to stop a wider outbreak?
This outbreak tests our global pandemic defenses. Is the world truly ready for the next threat?