Madrid, June 4, 2026
The Ministry of Health has updated the protocol for managing people affected by the Andes hantavirus outbreak associated with the MV Hondius cruise ship, establishing the clinical and microbiological criteria that will allow hospital discharge of confirmed cases and the conditions for the completion of contact tracing.
According to the protocol approved by the Public Health Commission, people diagnosed with Andes hantavirus infection who remain admitted to a High Level Isolation and Treatment Unit (UATAN) may be discharged from the hospital once clinical recovery has been achieved, for which they must have remained at least three days without symptoms compatible with the disease and obtain two negative results in PCR tests performed on urine and oropharyngeal exudate, separated by a minimum interval of 48 hours.
The most recent studies on Andes virus show that viral RNA can be detected in blood for an extended period after clinical recovery.
For this reason, discharge criteria are not based solely on a negative blood PCR test, but also on the absence of symptoms and negative results in biological samples most directly related to possible viral shedding, such as urine and oropharyngeal swabs.
Consequently, the protocol expressly acknowledges that some individuals may continue to test positive for COVID-19 via PCR in their blood after hospital discharge.
Available scientific evidence indicates that this persistence of viral genetic material can continue after clinical recovery, without posing a risk of disease transmission.
In these cases, they will remain under clinical follow-up for six months to monitor their progress, detect any potential long-term effects, and undergo regular check-ups until the test is negative.
Those being monitored as contacts must complete the maximum quarantine period established by the protocol.
If they remain asymptomatic throughout the home monitoring period, a sample will be taken at the end of this period and analyzed by the National Microbiology Center.
Only after obtaining a negative result will they be able to end the monitoring measures and fully resume their normal activities.
These measures are part of the surveillance and control system designed to ensure the safety of patients, healthcare professionals and the general population, applying the precautionary principle while international monitoring of this outbreak continues.
Source:
Link: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa.do?id=6928
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