Spanish authorities also revealed that a passenger quarantining in Madrid has provisionally tested positive. Meanwhile, the United States confirmed that a second American traveller from the ship had developed mild symptoms after returning home under strict biocontainment measures.
Two British nationals with confirmed infections are currently receiving treatment in hospitals in the Netherlands and South Africa.
The outbreak has also triggered alarm inside a Dutch hospital after 12 healthcare workers were placed into quarantine as a precaution. Officials in Nijmegen admitted that strict safety procedures were not fully followed while staff handled blood and urine samples from one of the infected passengers.
Health experts stress that symptoms of hantavirus can initially resemble a severe flu infection before rapidly becoming life-threatening. Patients may experience high fever, extreme exhaustion, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and severe breathing difficulties.
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