A French-Argentine person who was touring France during the second half of July tested positive for hantavirus of the Andes strain, and was isolated “with their family in Spain”, announced the French Ministry of Health on Thursday. This is now confirmed by the Ministry of Mónica García.
The Ministry of Health points out that contact has been made with the Public Health Directorate of Galicia and with the French government, which has confirmed that this is a case of Andes hantavirus. “The case went to medical services in France, with a very mild condition, which France later identified as Hantavirus. Then they traveled to Spain already asymptomatic and therefore could no longer infect others,” explain the Spanish ministry.
The ministry explains that “this Thursday we learned that a French-Argentine citizen traveling through Europe, and who is currently in Spanish territory, in Galicia, tested positive for hantavirus following a sample taken a few days ago in France due to a mild respiratory condition.”
Both Ministries of Health have stated that “the patient is currently well.” The French public health services indicated the need for isolation at their accommodation and to await further actions from the public health services of our country.
The French ministry is convening a group of scientific experts this Thursday afternoon to determine the steps to follow and assured that “all measures” have been put in place to “reconstruct the stages” of their journey.
Similarly, other action mechanisms contemplated in the have been initiated here, assure García’s department. Both the Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES) and the Public Health services of Galicia are conducting the necessary studies to determine what actions should be taken. “In Spain’s case, we have all protocols and knowledge well updated and ready to adapt to the specific circumstances.”
Containment and management measures for hantavirus in Spain
It is worth remembering that Spain established a series of control protocols over the pathogen. Thus, in the latest update of this roadmap, it was pointed out that a confirmed case corresponds to a person with a positive laboratory test for Andes hantavirus (ANDV) confirmed at the National Microbiology Center of ISCIII. If positive, in our country the patient is referred to the Central Defense Hospital Gómez Ulla.
According to WHO, the maximum incubation period is considered to be 42 days, therefore, 28 days are considered the period of highest probability for symptom onset. The transmissibility stage begins two days before the symptom onset date or the sample collection date in confirmed asymptomatic cases. According to currently available evidence, transmissibility is maintained at least during the clinical phase of the disease.
The document also states that “in any situation that may arise, different from those described,” “an individualized evaluation will be carried out by the Public Health of the Autonomous Community or City with Statute of Autonomy in coordination with the Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies for its assessment and appropriate measures.” Therefore, Health expects to coordinate with France to mark the next steps.
Background
On April 1 of this year, the cruise ship MV Hondius, which departed from the Argentine port of Ushuaia bound for Cape Verde, was the focus of a hantavirus outbreak.
The outbreak, with 13 linked cases of which three ended in death, generated an international alarm.
On July 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that outbreak over after the last person left quarantine.
The 13 cases identified in this episode constitute just a handful compared to the tens of thousands of hantavirus infections – a rare virus for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment – recorded each year.
Most of these infections are due to direct contagion from an animal, usually a rodent.
The concern here was focused on the risk of person-to-person transmission: the strain involved, known as Andes, is the only known one that allows this type of contagion.
