Hantavirus: Greek Passenger of Hondius Quarantined in Athens Hospital

A 70-year-old Greek rider of Hondius was transferred to Athens Credit: Elton Monteiro / EPA via AMNA

The Greek rider from the expedition cruise vessel MV Hondius is presently nether strict precautionary quarantine astatine the “Attikon” University General Hospital. This high-level aesculapian cognition follows a confirmed outbreak of Hantavirus (specifically the Andes variant) connected the vas during its travel from Argentina done the South Atlantic.

The ngo to bring the 70-year-old Greek nationalist home was a complex, multi-national coordination. After the vas was diverted to the Canary Islands, the rider was archetypal transported by a Dutch craft to Eindhoven Airport successful the Netherlands.

A Greek C-27 subject transport level (as clarified by caller reports) was dispatched to the Netherlands to implicit the repatriation. It landed astatine Elefsina Air Base astatine 3:20 AM.

Reflecting the seriousness of the protocol, the rider was accompanied passim the formation by a specialized doctor, an EKAV rescuer, and the President of the Scientific Council of EODY (Hellenic National Public Health Organization).

The rider has been placed successful a antagonistic unit isolation room. While helium presently remains asymptomatic, helium is required to acquisition a mandatory 45-day (six-week) monitoring period, which aligns with the maximum incubation model for the Andes strain.

Greek authorities play down nationalist concerns

Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis has issued respective updates to clarify the status of the passenger and code nationalist concerns:

No Active Illness: The Minister emphasized that the 70-year-old is afebrile and asymptomatic. The hospitalization is strictly a preventive measurement due to the fact that helium was successful the situation wherever the microorganism was present.

Zero Public Risk: Georgiadis stated intelligibly connected societal media that determination is “absolutely nary fearfulness of the microorganism spreading successful Greece.” The usage of a antagonistic unit enclosure astatine Attikon ensures full containment.

Humanitarian Response: Addressing societal media disapproval regarding the outgo and hazard of the mission, the Minister defended the decision, stating that “Greece ne'er leaves anyone alone” and that immoderate national could person recovered themselves successful a akin predicament.

Authorities punctual the nationalist that Hantavirus is typically zoonotic (passed from rodents to humans). While the Andes strain is unsocial for its constricted human-to-human potential, this is lone a interest successful cases of utmost proximity. The rigorous isolation astatine Attikon is designed to destruct adjacent the smallest statistical hazard of home transmission.

Related: Hantavirus on Cruise Ship: What Is It and How Does It Spread?