A French woman infected in the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and is currently being treated with an artificial lung, a doctor at the Paris hospital told AP News. The French passenger hospitalized in Paris has a severe form of the disease that has caused life-threatening lung and heart problems, Dr. Xavier Lescure, an infectious disease specialist at Bichat Hospital, told the media outlet. He said she is on a life-support device that pumps blood through an artificial lung, providing it with oxygen and returning it to the body.
Outbreak Spreads to Spain
The outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship has infected at least 11 people. The latest person confirmed to be infected with hantavirus is a Spanish passenger, Spain’s health ministry said Tuesday. The passenger was in quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid. As the number of hantavirus cases climbs, health authorities are in emergency response mode, scrambling to understand how the virus spread and whether more cases will emerge.
Alarming Spread in Close Quarters
The virus, which is typically associated with rodent exposure, is not something cruise ship passengers usually worry about. But here it is, spreading through a vessel with hundreds of people in close quarters. That is what makes this outbreak genuinely alarming. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe form of the disease, kills roughly 38 percent of people who contract it, according to CDC data. The disease starts with respiratory symptoms—fever, cough, shortness of breath—and can rapidly progress to complete organ failure.
Transmission and Risks
Hantavirus typically spreads through contact with infected rodents or their droppings. It is not normally transmitted from person to person. The World Health Organization (WHO) states: "Transmission of hantaviruses to humans occurs from contact with contaminated urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents. Infection may also occur, although less commonly, through rodent bites. Activities that involve contact with rodents such as cleaning enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, farming, forestry work and sleeping in rodent-infested dwellings increase exposure risk."
The WHO adds: "Hantavirus infections are relatively uncommon globally but are associated with a case fatality rate of less than 1 to 15 percent in Asia and Europe and up to 50 percent in the Americas. Worldwide, it is estimated that from 10,000 to over 100,000 infections occur each year with the largest burden in Asia and Europe."
