A Dutch hospital has placed 12 employees in quarantine for six weeks as a precaution after incorrect procedures were followed while caring for a patient infected with hantavirus.
The hospital, Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc), said on Monday that the issue involved procedures for drawing and processing blood samples, as well as the disposal of the patient's urine.
"This blood was processed according to standard procedure. Due to the nature of the virus, this blood should have been processed according to a stricter procedure," Radboudumc said in a statement, without specifying what the stricter measures should have entailed.
It became clear on Saturday that the latest international guidelines for disposing of the patient's urine had not been followed, according to the medical center.
As a result, 12 employees have entered preventive quarantine for six weeks. "Although the risk of actual infection is very low, these measures have a significant impact on everyone involved," said Bertine Lahuis, chair of the Executive Board of Radboudumc.
On Thursday, Radboudumc admitted a hantavirus-infected patient from the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Monday that nine cases have now been linked to the ship, with seven confirmed infections of the Andes virus and three fatalities.
Dutch hospital quarantines 12 staff over hantavirus exposure precautions
