# Hantavirus in France: historical cases and the MV Hondius episode

> Status of hantavirus cases in France as of 11 May 2026: first Andes case confirmed in a French national repatriated from the MV Hondius, 22 hospital-isolated contacts, decree of 10 May on the 42-day quarantine at Bichat.

Published on May 24, 2026 on HantaTracker
Canonical source: https://hantatracker.fr/en/articles/hantavirus-in-france/
Category: Actualité

Hantavirus is no novelty in France. Several strains have been circulating there for decades. But the **MV Hondius** episode marks the arrival of an unprecedented situation: a cluster of Andes virus — the most dangerous strain in the family — on board a cruise vessel, with **5 French passengers repatriated**, **1 confirmed positive case** as of 11 May 2026 and **22 contact cases identified** in metropolitan France. Summary based on official sources and verified press.

## 11 May 2026: first Andes case confirmed in France

On the morning of Monday 11 May 2026, government spokesperson **Maud Bregeon** announced on BFM TV that a **French national had tested positive** for the Andes virus. She was one of the five people repatriated the previous day from Tenerife aboard a chartered medical flight. She had symptoms during the flight and was placed immediately under strict isolation at **Bichat Hospital (Paris, 18th arrondissement)** on arrival. The patient is now **hospitalised in intensive care in stable condition**, in a negative-pressure room, per the Prime Minister's statements.

A few hours later, *Le Monde* reported that a **US passenger** of the MV Hondius had also tested positive, bringing to several units the international tally of confirmed cases (exact figure being consolidated by the health authorities).

## Decree of 10 May: 42 days of quarantine and isolation

Announced on the evening of 10 May by Prime Minister **Sébastien Lecornu** on CNews and published in the **Official Journal of 11 May 2026** under reference **decree no. 2026-364 of 10 May 2026**, the text formalises measures applying to three categories of people:

- **MV Hondius passengers** who stayed on board between 1 April and 10 May 2026: quarantine in a healthcare facility followed by quarantine or isolation, **for a total duration of 42 days** — matching the maximum known incubation period of the Andes virus (7 to 42 days).
- **Contacts of these passengers or of any confirmed case**, where they present a serious infection risk: tailored quarantine or isolation.
- **Passengers of two specific flights** identified as at risk, required to report to the health authorities without delay: flight **4Z132 Saint Helena → Johannesburg of 25 April 2026** and flight **KL592 Johannesburg → Amsterdam of 25 April 2026**.

The decree entered into force immediately, under the responsibility of the Ministers of the Interior and of Health. On the **evening of 11 May**, following a crisis meeting at Matignon, the Prime Minister announced a **tightening of the scheme**: **all French contact cases — 22 people — are now placed under "enhanced hospital quarantine"**, no longer in self-isolation at home as initially planned.

Two daily interministerial meetings are held at Matignon to coordinate the health authorities (Foreign Ministry, ARS Île-de-France, Santé publique France, Institut Pasteur).

## The 22 contact cases and the 5 repatriated passengers

The total figure under follow-up in France was clarified between 10 and 11 May. **Health Minister Stéphanie Rist** detailed the contact chain on France Inter.

### The 5 MV Hondius passengers

Repatriated to Bichat on 10 May from Tenerife. **One tested positive** (in intensive care, stable). **Four tested negative** at this stage, maintained under hospital quarantine under the decree for the full 42 days.

### The 8 contacts on flight Saint Helena → Johannesburg (4Z132)

This **commercial flight of 25 April 2026** carried 8 French nationals alongside a **Dutch passenger who died on arrival in Johannesburg on 26 April**, after a rapid deterioration during the flight. Per the Ministry of Health, **one of these 8 French passengers has mild symptoms** and diagnostic tests are under way. All are placed under enhanced hospital isolation.

### The 14 other contact cases

Identified more recently, notably via the **KL592 Johannesburg → Amsterdam flight of 25 April 2026** and the close circle of the confirmed patient. These 14 people, initially placed in self-isolation at home, were **transferred to hospital quarantine** following the tightening decided on 11 May.

## Index-case hypothesis: the Dutch ornithologist

According to initial investigation made public by the **Argentine authorities** and relayed by the international press, the index case of the MV Hondius outbreak would be **Leo Schilperoord**, a 70-year-old Dutch ornithologist who died on board. His partner **Mirjam**, who travelled with him, also died.

The reconstructed scenario rests on three elements:

1. Before boarding in Ushuaia on 1 April 2026, the couple allegedly visited, **on 27 March**, an **open-air landfill near Ushuaia** (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) — a region **endemic to the Andes virus**.
2. The site is frequented by amateur ornithologists for observing the **Darwin's caracara** (*Phalcoboenus albogularis*), a rare species in the area.
3. The landfill hosts **colilargo colonies** (*Oligoryzomys longicaudatus*), the main reservoir of the Andes virus. Per the Argentine authorities, the couple may have **inhaled particles from the droppings** of these rodents.

Four days after this visit, on 1 April, Mr Schilperoord boarded the MV Hondius. On 6 April, he reported headaches, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. He died five days later on board.

This scenario illustrates a classic pattern of **zoonotic emergence**: a human behaviour (intrusion into a high-density rodent habitat) creates exceptional exposure to a virus normally confined to an animal cycle. **Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome** then developed during the crossing, when the vessel was already far from any medicalised port.

However, this hypothesis has since been **seriously contested**. See our detailed article on the [Ushuaïa landfill and the index case](/en/articles/ushuaia-landfill-index-case/) for the four-pronged counter-evidence put forward by provincial authorities, the WHO, a local guide and a temporal argument.

## Not the first hantavirus in France — but the first Andes

Hantaviruses have circulated in France for a long time, in a much less severe form than the Andes virus. The **Puumala virus**, transmitted by the bank vole (*Myodes glareolus*), is responsible for an **epidemic nephropathy** mainly observed in:

- **Franche-Comté** (notably the Doubs département)
- **Alsace**
- **Champagne-Ardenne**
- **Picardie**

Per data from the **French National Reference Centre for Hantaviruses** (Institut Pasteur), **about 100 cases are diagnosed per year on average in metropolitan France** (2,046 cumulative cases between 2005 and 2024, with a peak at 320 cases in 2021 and a trough at 14 cases in 2013). The disease presents as a **fever with renal involvement** of moderate intensity, usually reversible. **Case fatality is low**, around 0.4% (Santé publique France / ECDC data). **No person-to-person transmission has been documented** for the Puumala virus.

The MV Hondius episode is therefore the **first Andes virus episode** identified in France — a strain so far endemic to Argentina and Chile, and far more dangerous (case fatality around 35-40%, against around 0.4% for Puumala).

## "As severe as Ebola": Flahault's framing

In an interview with *Le Parisien* on 11 May 2026, epidemiologist **Antoine Flahault**, professor at Université Paris Cité and director of the Geneva Institute of Global Health, drew a striking comparison: in his view, the Andes hantavirus would be **as severe as the Ebola virus**. The comparison aims to draw attention to the **individual severity** of the infection:

- Case fatality of the Andes virus: around 35 to 40%
- Case fatality of Ebola (depending on strains): 25 to 90%, averaging around 50%

But the comparison stops at this clinical severity. Like Ebola, the Andes virus:

- requires **close and prolonged contact** for person-to-person transmission (no broad airborne transmission);
- remains **rare in person-to-person transmission**: per published estimates, only a minority of cases are transmitted human-to-human for Andes;
- allows **active surveillance** of contacts during the incubation period, which breaks transmission chains.

The WHO's assessment of the risk to the French population therefore remains **low**. No barrier measures are imposed on the general public. Surveillance focuses exclusively on people identified as at-risk contacts.

## What to do in France?

### For the general public

**No specific measure required.** No mask, no distancing, no change of activity. Hantavirus diseases are not transmitted by brief contact or in open urban settings.

### For people linked to the MV Hondius or to the at-risk flights

You were a MV Hondius passenger (1 April – 10 May 2026), you were on flight **4Z132 Saint Helena → Johannesburg of 25 April** or flight **KL592 Johannesburg → Amsterdam of 25 April**, or you are a close contact identified as at-risk:

- You have been or will be contacted by your **ARS** (regional health agency) or by **Santé publique France**.
- The decree of 10 May requires you to **report without delay** to the health authorities.
- Monitor your **temperature daily** for the 42 days following last exposure.
- At the slightest sign (fever, headaches, muscle pain, shortness of breath): **call the emergency services** (in France: 15 or 112) and **immediately mention your exposure** to the MV Hondius or to the named flights.
- Do not go to a waiting room without notifying: an isolated reception protocol is in place.

### For rural Puumala-risk areas

If you live or work in forested areas of Doubs, Alsace or Franche-Comté and handle firewood or clean closed spaces:

- ventilate **before** intervening;
- wear an FFP2 mask and gloves;
- spray diluted bleach (1:9) before sweeping;
- **do not sweep dry**, **do not vacuum**: use bleach and paper towels.

The Puumala virus remains rare but its circulation is well documented in France.

## And what next?

The MV Hondius episode is still ongoing as of 11 May 2026. Results of **control PCR tests** on the four asymptomatic Bichat passengers and on the symptomatic at-risk-flight contact are awaited. An interministerial meeting is held at **Matignon twice a day** to coordinate the response. Surveillance of the 22 contact cases and the 5 passengers extends until **end of June 2026** at minimum, in line with the maximum incubation period.

HantaTracker updates this page on every official development, with verified sources. The **[home page](/en/)** and the **[France protocol page](/en/protocols/fr/)** complete this file.