Brit Tourist Quarantined in Italy After Plane Exposure

A young British tourist, aged 20, has been quarantined for a month in Milan, Italy, despite testing negative for the hantavirus. Health authorities placed her in isolation at Sacco Hospital in the Lombardy region after identifying her as a contact of an infected passenger on her flight. This situation echoes a previous incident where a British man in his 60s, also testing negative, was quarantined in the same hospital as a close contact of a hantavirus victim.

The initial case involved a Dutch woman who died from the virus. The British man had been with another individual who joined his journey in Italy. Both men, traced through information provided by British authorities, were taken to Sacco Hospital. While the younger man was cleared to return home, the older man remained in quarantine until June 6 for monitoring, receiving weekly hantavirus tests.

This series of events stems from an outbreak on the MV Hondius ship, which had 11 cases, including three deaths. The ship, which sailed from the Canary Islands, underwent disinfection in Rotterdam. Passengers were required to disembark in protective gear and enter quarantine in various countries. Measures are in place to ensure the safety of cleanup crews. The Pasteur Institute in France confirmed matches for the Andes virus strain.