Mirjam Schilperoord became infected with hantavirus from her husband, who died on a cruise ship. When she wanted to return home, she first traveled by plane from the island of Saint Helena to Johannesburg. The crew has already rejected her for the next flight to Amsterdam. The woman then collapsed at the airport and died in a hospital in Johannesburg.
In addition to the Dutch woman, there was also another person on the plane who was infected with hantavirus. The infected then also traveled to Amsterdam.
The British government informed the Italian authorities about the tourist, who visited several countries before arriving in Milan. The news of his detention comes at a time when 10 Britons are to be transported to the United Kingdom from islands linked to the epidemic on cruise ships. They are residents of the British overseas territories of St. Helena and Ascension Island and came into contact with people who left the ship Hondius, where the infection broke out, writes the Daily Mail website.
None of them showed symptoms, according to the authorities, their quarantine is a “precautionary measure to support communities in the overseas territories of the United Kingdom”.
So far, 11 cases of hantavirus have been reported during the cruise, including three deaths. “At the moment there are no signs that we are seeing the beginning of an epidemic,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization.
According to him, however, more infected people may still be added. “Due to the long incubation period of the virus, it is possible that some more cases will appear in the coming weeks,” he added.
This could apply to France, where a 30-year-old woman with suspected hantavirus was taken to a hospital in Marseille. She came into contact with one of the victims on board the plane from Johannesburg to Amsterdam.
In France, one patient has so far tested positive for hantavirus. She is in the intensive care unit and has a severe form of the disease.
Finland reports two people in quarantine. Both were on board the plane that was traveling from Johannesburg with a person infected with hantavirus. The Finnish authorities set a quarantine period of 42 days.
Hantavirus
- It occurs naturally in rodents and can cause serious illness in humans. Infection can lead to two main types of disease: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) a hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
- Humans become infected through infected rodents, especially mice and rats. Either inhales aerosols containing particles of urine, feces or saliva of rodents, or by direct contact with infected material, biting or consuming contaminated food or water.
- Transmission from person to person is rareoccurs in the type of hantavirus referred to as Andes virus.
- Mortality varies according to the specific type of virus. But it reaches up to 50 percent. These deadly types are however extremely rare.
- Infection can lead to pulmonary syndrome. It occurs mainly in North and South America and is very serious. The symptoms are similar to the flu at first, the person suffers fever, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Cough and shortness of breath are added later, which can lead to lung failure.
- Another possibility is hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. It is more common in Europe and Asia. Symptoms include sudden fever, chills and headaches, low blood pressure, kidney failure, bleeding into the skin and mucous membranes.
- The mortality rate of HFRS varies according to the type of virus – for the Hantaan type it is 5 to 10 percentin the Puumala type and Seoul is 1 percent.
- There is no specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus.
