Hantavirus: An affected person from Saxony

A person from Saxony is among the German passengers affected by a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. This was announced by the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) on request. The ministry did not initially provide further details on the person's gender or place of residence.

According to the information, people from Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saxony are affected. None of the four people have symptoms so far, it added. They arrived at Frankfurt University Hospital at 2.30 a.m. on Monday and no one had any symptoms, it added. The passengers were to be taken to their respective federal states on Monday.

Domestic quarantine for up to 45 days

The ministry announced that they were expected to go into domestic quarantine at their places of residence. "Over the next few weeks, contact persons will be continuously and closely monitored for symptoms." The relevant health authorities will decide on the specific measures to be taken.

According to experts, it can take up to 45 days from infection to the outbreak of the disease with this pathogen. If a person should fall ill, they can be treated safely in special centers according to the best medical standards, the BMG announced.

On Sunday, the first special flights took off from the Canary Island of Tenerife - where the cruise ship "Hondius" had docked after several weeks at sea - to bring people from the ship from a total of 23 nations to their home countries under special safety precautions. Another German passenger had been flown to the UK, where he lives, as the British news agency PA reported.

The WHO suspects that the chain of infection started with a Dutch couple who may have been infected before embarking in Argentina.

RKI chief: No danger or pandemic risk

The head of the German Robert Koch Institute (RKI), meanwhile, sees no danger to the population. The virus could make people very ill, said Lars Schaade on ZDF's "heute journal" on Sunday evening. "But the good news is that this is not a virus that spreads. And in this respect, I think I can say: I don't actually see any danger to the population in Germany or any risk of a pandemic."