Italy prepares hantavirus guidance as global health authorities monitor cruise ship outbreak
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Italy’s Health Ministry is preparing a circular letter on hantavirus for regional authorities and healthcare professionals following renewed international concern over the rare but potentially deadly disease, Italian news agency ANSA reported Monday.
The ministry said the document will provide updated guidance on surveillance, prevention and case management as health authorities monitor developments linked to recent hantavirus cases reported abroad.
The move follows heightened attention surrounding reports of hantavirus infections connected to a cruise ship outbreak in South America that was highlighted in international media coverage, including by the BBC.
Hantavirus is primarily spread through exposure to infected rodents or their urine, saliva and droppings. Symptoms can initially resemble the flu but may develop into severe respiratory illness in some cases.
Italian health officials stressed there was no immediate public health emergency in Italy, but said the circular was being prepared as a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring local health systems remain informed and coordinated.
The Health Ministry’s planned guidance is expected to be distributed to Italy’s regions, hospitals and public health bodies in the coming days, according to ANSA.
Health experts generally recommend avoiding contact with rodents, maintaining proper sanitation in enclosed spaces and using protective measures when cleaning areas that may contain rodent contamination.
An American and a French national who have returned to their home countries having left a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of hantavirus have tested positive, authorities say.
The US health department said a second American national on the repatriation flight had also shown mild symptoms, adding that both passengers had travelled back in “biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution”.
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a woman was isolating in Paris and her health was deteriorating, with 22 contact cases traced.
More than 90 passengers of the MV Hondius ship, currently docked in Spain’s Canary Islands, are being repatriated.
In its latest update from Tenerife on Monday, Spanish officials said 54 people were still on board the ship.
Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said six of those were passengers: four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander.
Three passengers – a Dutch couple and a German woman – have died after travelling on the vessel. Two of them are confirmed to have had the virus.
