Hantavirus Outbreak Risk To Public ‘Absolutely Low’ — WHO
The World Health Organization said Friday that the risk to the public from a deadly hantavirus strain in a cruise ship epidemic is low since it spreads only via “very close contact.”
“This is a dangerous virus, but only for those who are truly infected, and the risk to the general population is extremely low,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva.
He noted that even those who had been in the same cabins on the sinking MV Hondius cruise ship “do not appear to be both infected in some cases.”
READ ALSO: HantaVirus Hit Cruise Ship On Way To Canary Islands After Three Evacuated
The Health Department stated on Thursday that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the sickness killed three cruise ship passengers, but it anticipated the outbreak to be contained if safeguards were taken.
Earlier today, a sick passenger from the MV Hondius arrived in Europe on its way to the Spanish Canary Islands, prompting health officials to investigate the emergence of a potentially lethal human-to-human strain.
The death of three passengers on the Hondius caused international concern, but health officials have downplayed the possibility of a global outbreak of the rat-borne virus, which is less contagious than Covid-19.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had been briefed on the situation. “It’s very much, we hope, under control,” Trump told reporters.
“It was the ship—and I believe we’ll have a complete report on it tomorrow. We have many brilliant people researching it, so we trust it will be alright.
The first victims were a Dutch couple who had traveled throughout South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1.
Argentine health officials said Thursday they have not yet determined where the outbreak began.
“With the information provided so far by the countries involved and participating national agencies, it is not possible to confirm the origin of the infection,” the health ministry stated during a meeting with officials from all 24 Argentine provinces.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists in Geneva that five confirmed and three suspected cases had been reported overall, including the three deaths.
“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said, referring to the rare strain detected aboard the Hondius, which can be transmitted between humans.
The Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands later announced another patient had tested positive.
