La fin de l'épidémie de hantavirus est-elle proche ?

Published on 05/15/2026 15:19

Reading Time: 1min – video: 2min

Is the hantavirus threat fading away? There have been no positive cases among the isolated French contacts. So the question arises: how can a virus extinguish itself? Is the end of the epidemic near?

This text corresponds to a part of the transcription of the above report. Click on the video to watch it in its entirety.

They have been hospitalized since the beginning of the week, tested every two days, and so far, all negative for hantavirus. The 26 French contacts, under surveillance for 42 days, are in good health. The virus does not seem to be spreading in our territory. Globally, only 8 confirmed cases, and a key point: these 8 individuals were all on the boat. «It means that, within a period of three to four weeks, no new cases have appeared among the contacts who were not on the boat and were contaminated later,» explains Philippe Amouyel, professor of public health at the CHU de Lille, «If, by the end of June, no other cases appear in any country in the world, we can estimate that the epidemic will have extinguished itself.»

According to the latest sequencing, carried out notably in Dakar (Senegal), the virus has not mutated. There is therefore little risk that it has become highly contagious and that cases will appear outside the already identified chains of contamination. Could the virus reappear later, in several months, in a different form? According to Professor Pascal Crepey, an epidemiologist: «There is no circulation in Europe of this strain in rodent populations. So there is no risk of emergence or re-emergence of the strain.»

However, health authorities remain vigilant and monitor certain countries closely, such as the United States, where isolation rules are less strict than in other countries.

Published on 05/15/2026 at 15:19

Reading Time: 1min – video: 2min

Is the hantavirus threat fading away? There have been no positive cases among isolated French contacts. So the question arises: how can a virus die out? Is this the end of the epidemic approaching?

This text corresponds to a portion of the transcription of the above report. Click on the video to watch it in its entirety.

They have been hospitalized since the beginning of the week, tested every two days, and so far, all negative for hantavirus. The 26 French contact cases, under surveillance for 42 days, are in good health. The virus does not seem to be spreading in our territory. Globally, only 8 confirmed cases, and a key point: these 8 people were all on the boat. «This means that, within a period of three to four weeks, no new cases have appeared that would be contacts of people who were not on the boat and who were subsequently infected,» explains Philippe Amouyel, professor of public health at CHU de Lille, «If, by the end of June, we do not see any other cases appearing in any country in the world, we can estimate that the epidemic will have died out on its own.»

According to the latest sequencing, carried out in particular in Dakar (Senegal), the virus has not mutated. There is therefore little risk that it has become highly contagious and that cases will appear outside the already identified chains of contamination. Could the virus then reappear later, in several months, in a different form? This is unlikely, according to Professor Pascal Crepey, an epidemiologist: «There is no circulation in Europe of this strain in rodent populations. So there is also no risk of emergence or re-emergence of the strain.»

Health authorities remain vigilant and closely monitor certain countries, such as the United States, where isolation rules are less strict than in other countries.

, don’t translate or change.

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