Cruise Ship Hantavirus Case Fights for Life in Paris as WHO Watches for Wider Spread

A French woman infected with hantavirus on a cruise ship is now fighting for her life in a Paris hospital, hooked up to an artificial lung. Doctors say her condition is critical. And while the World Health Organization insists there is no sign of a larger outbreak just yet, the agency is not ruling out more cases.

According to the latest WHO data from 12 May, there are 11 cases linked to the cruise ship, nine of them confirmed, and three deaths. All of the affected individuals are passengers or crew members. The WHO expects more cases to arise given the dynamics of spread on a ship and the virus's long incubation period. But the agency added that at the moment, there is no sign that this is the start of a larger outbreak.

Transmission among people appears most likely during the early phase of illness, when the virus is more transmissible, the WHO noted. All passengers and crew are now being followed up in their home countries. The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine, either at home or in a facility, starting from the day of departure from the ship.

So how sick are the infected passengers? The French woman hospitalised in Paris has a severe form of the disease that has caused life-threatening lung and heart problems, according to Dr Xavier Lescure, an infectious disease specialist at Bichat Hospital. She is on a life-support device that pumps blood through an artificial lung, which provides it with oxygen and returns it to the body. The hope, Lescure said, is that the device relieves enough pressure on the lungs and heart to give them time to recover. He called it "the final stage of supportive care."

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at a press conference in Nairobi, said the hantavirus situation is "under control" in France. He added that the government has made the right decisions and that the situation is under control thanks to healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, a Spanish passenger quarantined in the Gómez Ulla Central Defence Hospital in Madrid also tested positive on Tuesday. That patient had a low-grade fever and mild respiratory symptoms. The Spanish Health Ministry wrote on X that the patient is currently stable with no evident clinical deterioration.

All passengers have now been transferred to their home countries. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the operation as a "success." Tedros said all suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, minimising the risk of further transmission.

The WHO's recommended quarantine period of 42 days began counting from 10 May.

For those wondering how hantavirus spreads in the first place: humans typically become infected through contact with contaminated urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. Activities that involve contact with rodents – cleaning enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, farming, forestry work, and sleeping in rodent-infested environments – increase the risk. Human-to-human transmission is rare and has been documented mainly among household members or intimate partners, according to the WHO.

Symptoms of the Andes virus appear between four and 42 days after exposure. Typically, people are only infectious while they have symptoms, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So for now, the woman in Paris remains in critical care. Three families are grieving. And health authorities across Europe are watching the calendar, waiting to see if the 42-day mark brings relief or more bad news.