Greek Man, 70, in 45-Day Quarantine After Hantavirus Exposure
A 70-year-old Greek man is now in strict quarantine at Athens' Attikon University Hospital after being exposed to hantavirus aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius. He arrived at the hospital just after 3:30 a.m. Monday following a special Hellenic Air Force C-27J Spartan aircraft repatriation flight from Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Greece's national public health authority EODY confirmed the man is showing no symptoms and has no confirmed infection. The hospital stated the quarantine is purely precautionary and is being carried out under standard public health protocols for infectious disease exposure.
The repatriation was no routine medical transfer. The flight included an EKAB physician, an EKAB paramedic-nurse, and pulmonology professor Theodoros Vassilakopoulos, who heads EODY's scientific council. The passenger entered Attikon through a specially designated access point to avoid any contact with other patients.
Under EODY protocols, the man will remain in the hospital's Special Infectious Diseases Unit for 45 days. Vassilakopoulos noted that hantavirus carries a low transmission rate, and Greece typically records only one or two cases per year.
The concern, however, is not zero. Certain strains found in the Americas can cause severe pneumonia, and hantavirus has been known for decades to trigger serious complications in rare cases, including respiratory failure and hemorrhagic fever. Vassilakopoulos said Greece chose hospital quarantine over home isolation specifically because of the stricter monitoring it allows.
Greek authorities have not released details on how many other passengers aboard the MV Hondius may have been exposed or whether additional repatriations are being considered.
