Doctors told woman now critically ill with hantavirus that symptoms were ‘anxiety’

WorldHealth & Fitness
12 May 2026 • 4:53 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Doctors told woman now critically ill with hantavirus that symptoms were ‘anxiety’

  • A French woman evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship is in a critical condition in a Paris hospital after testing positive for hantavirus, with a Spanish minister revealing doctors initially dismissed her flu-like symptoms as anxiety.
  • The hantavirus outbreak on the ship has led to the deaths of three individuals – a Dutch couple and a German national – with a total of eight infections confirmed among passengers and crew.
  • Nearly 120 passengers and crew from 23 nations were evacuated from the luxury vessel in Tenerife, Spain, in what Spanish authorities described as a "complex" and "unprecedented" international operation involving military planes and quarantine protocols.
  • While the exact cause remains unconfirmed, the outbreak is thought to have originated from a birdwatching trip in Argentina involving the first infected passengers, and an American passenger tested positive for the Andes strain, known for person-to-person transmission.
  • Passengers from the cruise ship are now undergoing a 45-day isolation period in various countries, though Spanish and WHO officials have emphasised that the overall risk to the public remains low and is not comparable to Covid.

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