A German woman who had contact with a German passenger who died from the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship "Hondius" continues to show no signs of infection one week after admission to Düsseldorf University Hospital and has been transferred to a hospital closer to home. According to a statement from Düsseldorf University Hospital on Wednesday, the transfer took place in the morning accompanied by appropriate "protective measures." The hospital to which the woman was taken was not disclosed.
The woman "continues to show no clinical signs of infection," Düsseldorf University Hospital stated. The results of "extensive virological examinations" have also not indicated an infection so far. "The pathogen could not be detected in laboratory tests," the statement continued.
However, due to the variable incubation period of the virus of up to six weeks, "further checks and clinical observation are required," the hospital added. Accordingly, "adequate protective measures" are also being taken at the hospital now providing care.
The contact person, a 65-year-old German woman, was brought off the "Hondius" last Wednesday at the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, and flown to Germany. In addition two crew members from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands also left the ship as a precaution.
On Sunday and Monday, the evacuation of all remaining passengers of the "Hondius" and part of the crew finally took place off the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife. The approximately 120 evacuees included four Germans. Three affected individuals from Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, and Saxony were placed in home quarantine, while a fourth affected person was admitted to a Munich clinic for observation. According to authorities on Tuesday, all four were symptom-free.
A hantavirus outbreak occurred on the "Hondius" during a cruise from Argentina to Cape Verde, resulting in three passenger deaths. The virus was confirmed in two of them, while a hantavirus infection is considered probable for the third fatality according to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO, the virus was confirmed in a total of seven other now-evacuated occupants of the "Hondius," with one additional case considered "probable."
A French woman who developed the most severe form of hantavirus infection following the "Hondius" evacuation was still being treated in the intensive care unit of a Paris hospital on Wednesday. Additionally, 22 people in France are now in hospital quarantine as contact persons of a Dutch woman who later died. Eight French citizens who flew with her on the same aircraft from St. Helena to Johannesburg were taken to Paris hospitals according to the French Ministry of Health.
The 14 additional contact persons had been on the plane between Johannesburg and Amsterdam, which the infected Dutch woman had also boarded. However, due to her condition, she was taken off the aircraft again. The contact persons are to be tested every two days.
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