<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A French </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/hantavirus" rel="" target="" title="hantavirus"><span>hantavirus</span></a><span> patient is critically ill and is using an artificial lung to breathe, it's been revealed, as the number of people suspected to have contracted the deadly virus on board a cruise ship grows to 11.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nine hantavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, while there are a further two suspected, the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world-health-organisation" rel="" target="" title="World Health Organisation"><span>World Health Organisation</span></a><span> (WHO) has confirmed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All cases were passengers on board the MV Hondius </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/cruise" rel="" target="" title="cruise ​ship"><span>cruise ​ship</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/bullsbrook-perth-quarantine-centre-where-hantavirus-cruise-ship-passengers-will-stay/0d39607f-c907-46d9-a9df-9bdf194e67cd" rel="" target="" title="Inside the COVID-era centre where cruise passengers will quarantine"><strong><span>Inside the COVID-era centre where cruise passengers will quarantine</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ill woman is one of five </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/france" rel="" target="" title="French"><span>French</span></a><span> cruise ship passengers flown back from the liner and placed in isolation in Paris.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She is currently being treated in intensive care at Bichat Hospital in France battling a life-threatening case of the rare disease, Dr Xavier Lescure told local media at the French health ministry.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The patient now has the most severe form of cardiopulmonary presentation," Lescure told the press conference.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/hantavirus-french-patient-critically-ill-on-artificial-lung-as-who-confirms-cases-grow-to-11/4a5c29cd-0459-4dd7-87f4-b7001ff9269f" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She is on an artificial lung and a blood bypass to allow her, we hope, to get through this stage."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The hope is that the device relieves enough pressure on the lungs and heart to give them some time to recover.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/thousands-who-visited-sydney-strathfield-dentist-tested-bloodborne-viruses/5059b1d8-702b-4e75-8074-4cf5c30c4782" rel="" target="" title="Thousands who visited Sydney dentist urged to get tested for HIV"><strong><span>Thousands who visited Sydney dentist urged to get tested for HIV</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lescure called it "the final stage of supportive care".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She is older than 65 and has pre-existing conditions, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With the evacuation of all passengers and many crew members completed, the MV Hondius is now sailing back to the Netherlands, where it will be cleaned and disinfected.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite the rise in hantavirus cases, the WHO says the risk of a wider outbreak remains low.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But of course the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it's possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-live-updates-jim-chalmers-latest-politics-news-headlines/eeb48370-e899-4b3a-8036-497a7cb37c49" rel="" target="" title="Chalmers' subtle attack on Hanson in parting shot"><strong><span>Chalmers' subtle attack on Hanson in parting shot</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The latest person confirmed to be infected is a Spanish passenger who tested positive after being evacuated from the ship, Spain's health ministry said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The passenger was in quarantine at a military hospital in Madrid.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Six people - four Australians, one permanent resident and a New Zealander - are </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/hantavirus-cruise-ship-update-australians-change-plans-repatriation/11d15794-761e-4480-a3ce-f87ff8ed8e33" rel="" target="" title="currently in isolation in the Netherlands"><span>currently in isolation in the Netherlands</span></a><span>, preparing to board a specially chartered flight to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/perth" rel="" target="" title="Perth"><span>Perth</span></a><span>, where they will undergo a further three-week quarantine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No vaccine or specific treatment exists for hantavirus.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fatality rate for the disease varies by type but can be as high as 50 per cent, although early detection and treatment improve survival rates.</span></div></div><div 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