Hantavirus patient from cruise ship MV Hondius leaves intensive care

Paris – 06/08/2026: The French patient who contracted Andes hantavirus after a trip on the cruise ship MV Hondius has left intensive care. She had been treated for severe cardiopulmonary syndrome at Paris’s Bichat Hospital since May. No further details about her current condition, continuing care or the expected length of her hospital stay were initially released.

The woman was one of five French nationals who had been brought to France following the outbreak on the MV Hondius. Her infection was confirmed in May; because of the severe course of the illness, she required intensive care. According to earlier statements by the authorities, the other people who had returned to France from the ship’s circle tested negative.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Health also reported another hantavirus case involving a French-Argentine traveller. The man was passing through France in the second half of July 2026. According to the authorities, he and his family are in isolation in Spain. French health authorities are now investigating which people he had contact with during his stay.

A link between this case and the outbreak on the MV Hondius has not yet been established. The cluster of infections on board became known in early May and affected passengers of various nationalities. France subsequently launched a procedure to identify potential contacts, monitor them medically and treat them if necessary.

Hantaviruses are predominantly transmitted to humans by infected rodents, for example through contact with excretions or disturbed contaminated dust. The Andes variant detected on the MV Hondius differs in one important respect from the hantaviruses usually found in Europe: human-to-human transmission has also been scientifically documented for this variant. An infection can trigger severe cardiopulmonary syndrome. Patients and close contacts are therefore monitored particularly carefully.

In May, French authorities ordered temporary protective measures for people connected to the MV Hondius. These included medical examinations, inpatient isolation after entry into the country, and tracing potential contacts. The Institut Pasteur fully examined the French patient’s virus sample and assigned it to known Andes virus lineages from South America.

For travellers without direct contact with confirmed patients, authorities classified the risk to the general population as low during the outbreak. The case reported in August is being investigated independently; based on the findings so far, there is no link to the cluster of infections on the MV Hondius.