Dutch hospital quarantines 12 over breach of hantavirus protocol

(Reuters)

AMSTERDAM/MADRID, May 12 – A Dutch hospital quarantined 12 staff members in a preventive measure after blood and urine from a hantavirus patient were handled without observing strict protocols.

The hospital staff members will be quarantined for ​six weeks, the Radboudumc hospital in the city of Nijmegen said, adding that the infection risk was very low and patient care continued uninterrupted.

The ‌World Health Organization increased its tally of confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus to nine, up by two from the previous day. It did not identify the new cases, but the tally followed announcements of positive tests for a Spaniard and a U.S. citizen.

International medical officials are working to contain the outbreak of the virus, which hit the Hondius luxury ​cruise ship, which has set off for the Netherlands after discharging its final passengers in Spain’s Canary Islands.

The virus can be deadly, although ​authorities say it does not spread easily from person to person so poses little risk of an epidemic.

The Radboudumc hospital ⁠admitted the patient, a passenger from the ship, on May 7.

“We will carefully investigate the course of events to learn from this so that it can be prevented ​in the future,” said Bertine Lahuis, the chair of the hospital’s executive board.