French health authorities reported this Thursday the detection of a new case of hantavirus in a French-Argentine tourist who is currently in Spain. The patient remains isolated with his family, although the location where he is has not yet been reported.
The man passed through France during the second half of July and presented mild symptoms compatible with the disease. He is currently asymptomatic, according to information provided by the French Ministry of Health.
The French National Reference Center for Hantavirus has confirmed that it is the Andes variant, originating from South America. Authorities have activated patient monitoring and are working to reconstruct the different stages of his trip and identify people with whom he may have had close contact.
The Andes virus can be transmitted between people, although this type of contagion is rare and usually occurs after close and prolonged contact with someone who has symptoms. Most hantaviruses are transmitted through contact with infected rodents or with traces of their urine, saliva, or droppings, according to the World Health Organization.
A group of French experts meets this Thursday to study the case and coordinate the necessary measures with European authorities. The French Ministry of Health has indicated that the virus is not circulating widely among the population.
The positive case is known three months after the hantavirus outbreak recorded on the cruise ship 'MV Hondius', which forced the deployment of an extensive health device in the Canary Islands and Madrid. For now, authorities have not reported any relationship between that episode and this new imported case.
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