The French passenger with hantavirus remains in serious condition: how is this infection treated?

BarcelonaJust 24 hours after the Spanish government and the World Health Organization (WHO) congratulated each other on the management of the hantavirus outbreak, the provisional toll of this disease is 10 confirmed cases, three deaths, and dozens of people in isolation in different countries in case they develop symptoms. In Spain there is one positive case, which remains stable, while the rest of the Spanish passengers on the cruise ship MV Hondius and those who briefly coincided with an infected woman on a plane from Johannesburg – one at the Hospital Clínico in Barcelona and another in Alicante – have tested negative in all the tests performed. In France, the situation is almost identical, but the only woman who has tested positive is hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) in serious condition, and the professionals attending her are working to improve her prognosis. One of the challenges of this disease is that there is no treatment or vaccine available.

The virus responsible for the outbreak is a hantavirus of the Andes strain, which causes cardiopulmonary symptoms and has a high mortality rate, almost 30%. It should be remembered, however, that the lethality of a virus often varies greatly depending on the healthcare systems of the countries where the infections occur, i.e., the level of care that can be provided. In the event of a positive case, experts explain that its management is based on treating the symptoms, such as fever or respiratory problems, with respiratory support therapies if necessary and intensive monitoring to control its evolution. As for contacts, they need to self-isolate and, if they show compatible symptoms within the incubation period, act quickly to avoid complications if the infection is confirmed.

Tracking of Spanish passengers

For example, the Spanish patient began to show symptoms on Monday night, after being admitted to the Central Hospital of Defense Gómez Ulla. He had a slight fever and some difficulty breathing, which was treated with oxygen therapy –administration of oxygen–, and is now stable in the High-Level Isolation and Treatment Unit (UATAN) and will undergo PCR tests until recovery, according to the Ministry of Health. They are closely monitoring the case because hantavirus infection can progress very rapidly, as happened with the French patient.

The rest of the isolated Spaniards are following a very strict quarantine, although next Sunday, when it will be a week since their admission, they will be given two PCR tests which, if they confirm negative, will allow for more flexibility, with visits and departures from the room, always with protection and safety measures, as established by the protocol updated on Tuesday. However, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, warned this Wednesday that more positive cases may emerge given the long incubation period of hantavirus.

Regarding the absence of targeted treatments, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has already communicated that it is prepared to support the development and regulatory evaluation of vaccines and therapies against hantaviruses.