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Alsharq Tribune-AFP
Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in the Netherlands 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 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.
The hospital added that it became clear on Saturday that the latest international guidelines for disposing of the patient's urine had not been followed.
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.
