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French Woman (Paris ICU)

CRITICAL
FR-002
PASSENGER · 65+ · F

DOSSIER

UPDATED · 2026-05-13

Her condition has worsened to the most severe cardiopulmonary form of the illness. She has been placed on ECMO (a heart-lung machine) at Bichat. Her attending infectious-diseases specialist Dr Xavier Lescure (AP-HP) described ECMO as 'the final stage of supportive care', intended to take over for her failing lungs and heart while the damaged blood vessels in her lungs try to recover. Health Minister Rist called her condition 'grave' at a May 12 briefing while restating there is no evidence of the virus circulating within France. President Macron, speaking from Nairobi on May 13, described the French situation as 'under control.' Sources: https://www.france24.com/fr/france/20260513-hantavirus-une-patiente-fran%C3%A7aise-dans-un-etat-grave-mais-pas-de-circulation-du-virus-en-france ; https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/critically-ill-french-hantavirus-patient-is-on-an-artificial-lung-as-outbreak-grows-to-11 ; https://www.npr.org/2026/05/13/nx-s1-5820639/french-hantavirus-patient-critically-ill

UPDATED · 2026-05-12

She tested positive for hantavirus on May 11. French Health Minister Stephanie Rist confirmed the case publicly on France-Inter the same day, describing her condition as deteriorating overnight. She was admitted to a negative-pressure isolation room at Hopital Bichat-Claude Bernard in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Clinical framing across speakers diverged on May 12: PM Sebastien Lecornu described her as 'in ICU, stable condition' while WHO Director-General Tedros described her status as 'very critical' at the same-day Madrid press conference. The four other French passengers who flew alongside her remain at Bichat under 15-day reinforced isolation; all have tested negative as of May 12

Sources
ORIGINAL ENTRY

[Created 2026-05-12] French woman, over 65, passenger on the MV Hondius cruise. One of five French nationals flown back from Tenerife to Paris on Sunday May 10, landing at Paris-Le Bourget airport shortly before 16:30 local. She developed symptoms during the flight; on board the ship she had previously presented with flu-like symptoms and a brief cough, which ship medical staff initially attributed to stress and anxiety before the symptoms recurred in the air

Sources

KEY DATES

EXPOSURE
—
ONSET
2026-05-10
CONFIRMED
2026-05-11
OUTCOME
—

TRAVEL TIMELINE

  1. STOP 1 · Apr 1 → Apr 3MV Hondius, Ushuaia boardingBoarded MV Hondius for the Atlantic Odyssey
  2. STOP 2 · Apr 3 → Apr 22At sea — Antarctic Peninsula / South GeorgiaMV Hondius cruise leg
  3. STOP 3 · Apr 24 → Apr 25Saint HelenaSaint Helena port call; passenger stayed aboard
  4. STOP 4 · Apr 29 → May 7Off Praia (anchored)Cape Verde denied docking; MV Hondius anchored offshore
  5. STOP 5 · May 9 → May 10Tenerife — Granadilla portFinal disembarkation port; boarded repatriation flight
  6. STOP 6 · May 10 → May 10Paris-Le Bourget airportRepatriation flight landed shortly before 16:30 local (≈14:30 UTC); in-flight symptom onset
  7. STOP 7 · May 10 → PRESENTHopital Bichat-Claude Bernard (Paris 18e)Negative-pressure isolation room; admitted after Paris-Le Bourget arrival approximately 16:30 local; in-flight symptom onset during May 10 repatriation flight from Tenerife

LINKED EVENT

France confirms first national hantavirus case: woman tested positive after symptom onset on May 10 repatriation flight; in ICU after overnight deterioration ↗