Could hantavirus mutate and become more transmissible?

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]Doctors in France say the patient is now on an artificial lung. The woman is one of five French passengers who was flown back from the MV Hondius and is now among those isolating in Paris along with other potential contacts.

[00:00:15]Since we know that there can be transmission between humans, we must ensure that this transmission cannot occur, explains the French Minister of Health. Those individuals who are who are exposed, it's very important that they be followed forward to make sure that symptoms don't develop. Every day and week that goes by, the chance that they develop symptoms is going to go down. The passenger isolation math in Canada is an evolving equation. Seven more people in Ontario have been asked to isolate while health officials in Quebec say the resident who was possibly exposed to hantavirus is no longer required to do so. Those who are isolating could find themselves in quarantine for a minimum of 21 to a maximum of 42 days, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

[00:00:56]But, new precautions are being taken. As of late Tuesday, the federal government temporary measures are in place that will prevent any passenger and crew that have been aboard the MV Hondius since April 1st, 2026 from boarding a flight to Canada. What you're seeing here practically is where is the government is saying, "If you are an exposed person, don't come into the country while we are in that observation period trying to figure out whether further spread is going to occur." Of course, that does not apply to Canadians. As the clock runs down on the lengthy incubation period, scientists, including those at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, are tracking this virus closely. Viruses can mutate over time, but again, there's no reason right now to suggest that this one has mutated to become more transmissible.

[00:01:43]What we're seeing in both on the epidemiological and the microbiological side suggests the virus is acting the way that they normally do.

[00:01:50]Public health officials in Canada continue to emphasize the risk to the public remains low.

[00:01:56]Katherine Ward, Global News, Toronto.