90-Second Read: No sign of larger Hantavirus outbreak, says UN health agency

There is "no sign" of a larger Hantavirus outbreak after the evacuation of the last passengers from a disease-stricken cruise ship, the head of the UN health agency has said. WHO officials previously said the risk of a major outbreak is very low. On Tuesday, Spain's health ministry said one of the 14 Spaniards currently quarantining in Madrid after being evacuated from the vessel had tested positive for Hantavirus. The situation could still change and there might be more confirmed cases, warns the head of the World Health Organization.

Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents, but human transmission of the Andes strain, which the WHO believes some of the ship's passengers contracted in South America, is possible. The samples will be sent to Italy's main infectious diseases hospital, the Spallanzani in Rome, ANSA news agency reported. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said that while one French woman was in intensive care, four other citizens who had been repatriated had tested negative in hospital and 22 so-called "contact cases" were being kept in hospital in isolation for at least two weeks. Two flights carrying the final 28 passengers landed in nearby Eindhoven on Tuesday.

The French woman is in intensive care in hospital in Paris and doctors say she has "the most severe form" of the disease and is being treated with an artificial lung. The Spanish patient is described as having mild respiratory symptoms. Symptoms can include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. As of Monday evening, Oceanwide Expeditions said 27 people remained on board the ship, 25 crew members and two medical staff.

Two British nationals with confirmed cases are currently being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa. The final six passengers, four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander, and some crew members left the ship on Monday. The passenger has a "low-grade fever and mild respiratory symptoms" but is in a stable condition, the ministry added.