French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu asked ministers on Tuesday to “immediately strengthen cooperation” and push for “closer coordination” of EU health protocols. Today, meanwhile, EU ambassadors will discuss a joint strategy on hantavirus for the first time at diplomatic level.
Rendi-Wagner said the ECDC was taking a “no regrets” approach to hantavirus and that the agency’s approach was informed by the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic.
ECDC has also taken a more cautious line than its U.S. colleagues on potential transmission by asymptomatic patients. EU epidemiologist Gianfranco Spiteri warned there “might be some risk” since the virus can be detected in the blood before symptoms appear.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acting director, Jay Bhattacharya, said May 7 that “hantavirus is not spread by people without symptoms.” In an alert the next day, the CDC said transmission “typically required” close contact with a symptomatic person.