The Spanish passenger on the cruise ship MV Hondius diagnosed with hantavirus is evolving favorably after initial respiratory distress and remains stabilized after receiving oxygen therapy. The case is part of the outbreak detected on board the ship, which has left at least three dead and several confirmed infections in different countries.
The main tension of the episode lies in the fact that the outbreak has caused deaths and forced the activation of an international response, but for now health authorities maintain that there are no signs of widespread transmission and that the risk remains low. Among the close contacts isolated in Madrid are five Catalans, all asymptomatic and with negative PCR to date.
Javier Padilla confirmed that the patient improved after receiving oxygen therapy
Javier Padilla, Secretary of State for Health, explained in an interview on TVE that the patient started with respiratory problems at the beginning of the clinical picture. He then received supportive treatment and his situation began to correct itself.
"He started with some difficulty breathing, he was given oxygen therapy and, with that, he began to improve" - Javier Padilla, Secretary of State for Health
In a second assessment, Padilla specified that the case falls within the range of expected symptoms and expressed the prediction that it will not worsen. He also indicated that the condition can be kept under control with the usual treatments for low-grade fever and oxygen therapy.
Five Catalans remain isolated in Madrid and have tested negative in PCRs
Spanish citizens considered close contacts of the case, including five Catalans, remain preventively isolated at the Central Defense Hospital Gómez Ulla in Madrid. So far, none of those five affected from Catalonia have developed symptoms.
Furthermore, the PCR tests carried out to date on these close contacts have been negative. Surveillance continues while health authorities monitor for the possible appearance of symptoms compatible with the infection.
WHO ruled out a major outbreak after landing in the Canary Islands
The MV Hondius had departed from Ushuaia, in Argentina, in early April with passengers of more than twenty nationalities. Starting from that trip, the outbreak has added several confirmed cases in different countries and at least three deaths.
The detected variant is the Andes virus, a form of hantavirus that has registered exceptional cases of transmission between people. Despite that background, health authorities maintain that the current risk remains low.
The World Health Organization has coordinated the international response to the episode and has ruled out a "larger outbreak" after the cruise ship's docking in the Canary Islands. Health authorities also emphasize that the situation is very different from the Covid-19 pandemic and that there are no indications of widespread transmission.