Israel and the Netherlands confirm hantavirus in passengers evacuated from "infected" airliner

Two passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius who were evacuated to the Netherlands have been diagnosed with hantavirus. A passenger evacuated to Israel also tested positive. It was reported by NOS and Clash Report on Thursday, May 7.

Both individuals, who were aboard the Dutch cruise ship where an outbreak of the deadly virus is raging, were transported to the Netherlands on an evacuation flight. Both had symptoms but have now officially tested positive for hantavirus. One is at Radboudumc Hospital in Nijmegen, and the other is at LUMC in Leiden.

"Appropriate isolation measures have been taken in the ward where the patient is hospitalized to prevent the spread of the virus. According to both hospitals, visitors are not at risk of infection," the publication reported.

Three more people in the Netherlands were tested for the virus because they had been in direct contact with a patient who later died during a flight from Johannesburg to Schiphol.

Israel also confirmed its first case of hantavirus after a patient who had recently traveled to Eastern Europe tested positive. Unlike the more dangerous Andes strain that broke out on the cruise ship MV Hondius, the Israeli patient was infected with the European strain, which is primarily transmitted from rodents to humans rather than between humans. The patient is in stable condition and under medical supervision.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, more than 20 passengers on the MV Hondius, where a hantavirus outbreak later occurred, left the ship shortly before it was placed under quarantine.