ROME – Italian health officials announced Wednesday that four individuals who were being monitored for potential hantavirus exposure have all received negative test results, according to the country’s health ministry.
The individuals included an Argentine woman who was hospitalized with pneumonia, an Italian man from Calabria who placed himself in voluntary isolation, and a British traveler in Milan along with his travel companion.
Medical facilities in Rome and Milan conducted the testing, with all results coming back negative, health ministry officials confirmed.
“The risk connected with the virus remains very low in Europe and therefore also in Italy,” the ministry stated.
The Argentine woman had departed from an area in her homeland where the virus is known to occur on April 30, flying from Buenos Aires to Rome before traveling to Sicily, where medical staff treated her for pneumonia.
The Italian man from Calabria had a brief encounter on April 25 aboard an aircraft with a Dutch passenger who subsequently died from the infection.
The British traveler had also encountered the same Dutch woman during a separate flight and was placed under quarantine protocols, while medical personnel hospitalized his companion as a safety measure.
According to the World Health Organization, rodents primarily transmit hantavirus, though human-to-human spread can occur in uncommon instances. Initial symptoms typically resemble flu, including exhaustion and elevated temperature, appearing one to eight weeks following exposure.
Recent cases have been connected to passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise vessel, which arrived at Spain’s Canary Islands after completing a polar voyage that originated in Argentina.
The outbreak has claimed three lives so far – a Dutch couple and a German citizen.
The WHO has updated its count of verified cases in this outbreak to nine individuals. Officials noted that additional cases might emerge due to the extended incubation timeline, but emphasized this situation does not constitute a pandemic and differs significantly from COVID-19.
