Five French declared contact cases and evacuated from the MV Hondius ship have been isolated until further notice at the Bichat hospital, north of Paris, to prevent any spread of the hantavirus. Among the repatriated individuals, a first positive case of the Andes hantavirus has been confirmed. Anne Sénéquier, researcher and co-director of the IRIS Global Health Observatory, details the measures recommended by the WHO to contain the spread of this virus, which is already responsible for several deaths. She also analyzes the possible consequences of this situation and the security protocols implemented in the countries involved.
Franceinfo: Who are the contact cases and what does the reinforced health protocol consist of?
Anne Sénéquier: Contact cases today are people who have been deemed to have been exposed in a significant enough manner to warrant reinforced health emergency measures. As of today, a contact case is neither a sick person nor a contagious person. The goal, as the Minister of Health stated, is truly to break the transmission chains as quickly as possible, so that it stops here and now.
Today, we will use the knowledge we have about this Andes hantavirus, including an incubation period that can last up to six weeks. Starting from day zero, which is May 6, this means there will be enhanced monitoring for 42 days, until June 17 for all contact cases.
Then, for at least three days, we will follow these patients. Depending on what happens during these three days, it varies by country because some countries have repatriated their citizens, some are doing hospital quarantines during these 42 days, others may be able to send asymptomatic cases home with daily symptom monitoring to prevent further infections.
Are there risks of contamination at the Bichat hospital in Paris?
There are several precautions, the room of a positively confirmed case possesses negative pressure, it is designed so that when you open the door of the room, outside air enters inside, which is then recycled and treated inside, rather than outside. Everything aerosolized in the room is treated in the room and cannot escape.
A different protocol in the United States?
Why do all countries not take the health precautions that France does?
There is the concept of national health sovereignty which stipulates that each country will make its own decisions. Despite everything, there has been an evolution since Covid-19, with the central role played by the WHO. We saw the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who went to Tenerife to coordinate with his team the repatriation of each contact case to their country. This went well, but now the question arises of what will happen in the United States because there are 17 American nationals who will be repatriated to Nebraska, and the CDC, which is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is not necessarily imposing hospital or home quarantine and also not requiring testing for asymptomatic individuals.
The United States, in particular, have withdrawn from the WHO, have a somewhat “liberal” policy compared to France? They are not applying the recommendations of the World Health Organization?
The United States evaluates case by case. However, they communicated with the WHO during this hantavirus crisis, so they have not completely severed relations and coordination, but they were a bit slow to respond. They are not up to par with what can be done, when usually they are the strictest.
We are clearly facing a laxity issue because asymptomatic individuals are not tested, and quarantine is not imposed but left to the case. However, I think we also need to put things into perspective. We have seen in different crises that there is a truth at a specific moment, and any change in the situation can lead to protocol changes. The contact cases will soon arrive in Nebraska, and we will see if, due to international surprise, things can evolve based on the situation on the ground.
