The French Minister of Health, Stéphanie Rist, stated today that it is not certain whether the hantavirus strain linked to the emergence of cases on the cruise ship MV Hondius may have mutated, although officials appear “rather reassuring.”

“There are things… we do not know about this virus,” Rist said before the French National Assembly. “We do not yet have the full sequencing of the virus, which would allow us to say with certainty today, even if we are rather reassured so far… that the virus has not yet mutated.”

The French Health Ministry has so far not responded to a Reuters request for further comment.

The World Health Organization has said there is no indication that anything unusual is occurring with the hantavirus strain on the ship beyond its location.

The emergence of cases has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, with officials seeking advice from Argentina, where an outbreak of the same strain ended in 2019.

The WHO has confirmed nine cases and is calling for the isolation of suspected cases, adding that more cases are expected due to passenger interactions before the virus was detected. However, it stresses that there is no evidence of a broader outbreak.