Hantavirus Patient in Critical Condition after Doctors Dismissed Symptoms as ‘Anxiety’
A French woman who tested positive for hantavirus after disembarking from the virus-stricken cruise ship is now in critical condition after doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as anxiety.
The passenger’s condition started to deteriorate rapidly after she was finally able to leave the ill-fated MV Hondius vessel when it docked in Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday, the Guardian reported.
The woman had initially developed flu-like symptoms on the luxury liner but appeared to be recovering — prompting doctors to speculate she was likely anxious or stressed amid the deadly outbreak.
“They were not thinking that these symptoms were compatible with hantavirus. Why? Because what she was telling [them] was [that she had] an episode of coughing some days ago that had disappeared, and what she was having at that moment was kind of like stress or anxiety or nervousness. So it was not catalogued [as hantavirus],” said Spanish Health Minister Javier Padilla Bernáldez.
The woman, who was one of five French passengers who left the ship on Sunday, was flown to a hospital in Paris, where her condition worsened overnight. (Read more from “Hantavirus Patient in Critical Condition after Doctors Dismissed Symptoms as ‘Anxiety’” HERE)
