The Pasteur Institute in Paris has completed a full genomic sequence of the Andes virus detected in a French passenger who fell ill after traveling aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, and its analysis shows the virus matches strains already known and monitored in South America, with no sign that it has acquired characteristics making it more transmissible or more dangerous, French health authorities said Friday.
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced the finding in a post on X. “The analyzed virus corresponds to the viruses already known and monitored in South America,” Rist said. “At this stage, no element suggests the emergence” of a more dangerous form, she added.
Jean-Claude Manuguerra, who heads Pasteur’s Environment and Infectious Risk unit, said the viruses taken from patients on the ship were identical to each other and about 97% similar to some Andes viruses circulating in South America, including those found in rodents. The remaining sequence variation, Manuguerra said, reflects natural viral diversity and does not appear to alter the characteristics of the virus detected among the travelers.
The outbreak aboard the Hondius has reached 11 cases, nine of which have been confirmed. Three people who were on the cruise have died. Among them were a Dutch couple whom health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America before boarding the ship.
The French passenger who tested positive has been receiving treatment in Paris. Officials previously described her condition as serious.
Rist said Pasteur’s sequencing data would be shared with the international scientific community and that the work allows health authorities to “ensure close health monitoring.”