Two More Cruise Passengers Infected with Hantavirus
Axios (Tổng hợp từ Al Jazeera English)
Two more passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for hantavirus, bringing the total to 10. A French woman and an American citizen are among the new cases, with health authorities monitoring contacts and continuing evacuations.
French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on May 11 that a female French passenger aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship tested positive for the hantavirus and her condition was deteriorating. Rist stressed the importance of early action to break the chain of infection, adding that four other French passengers tested negative and 22 contacts had been identified.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on May 10 that an American citizen on a repatriation flight tested “weakly positive” for the virus, and another person had mild symptoms. Both were isolated in a bio-containment area of the aircraft. All 17 passengers from the MV Hondius will undergo clinical evaluation upon arrival in the United States.
The two new cases bring the confirmed total to 10. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed two deaths and one probable death. As of May 7, four people were hospitalized, including one in intensive care in South Africa.
The MV Hondius has been anchored near the island of Tenerife after being stranded for weeks due to a hantavirus outbreak on board. Health authorities are monitoring passengers who left the ship before the outbreak was detected. The evacuation of passengers is expected to be completed by May 11 with flights to Australia and the Netherlands.
A flight to Australia will carry six passengers from Tenerife, and another to the Netherlands will take 18 people. Both flights will also carry passengers from other countries that do not have their own repatriation flights.
Hantavirus can cause severe respiratory disease, typically transmitted by rodents but rarely between humans. Symptoms appear 1-8 weeks after exposure, including headache, fever, chills, gastrointestinal upset, and respiratory failure. The mortality rate for the Andes strain, identified on the ship, can reach 40-50%, particularly in older adults.
The WHO recommends a 42-day quarantine for passengers. Experts emphasize the virus is far less contagious than COVID-19. Robin May, chief scientific officer of the UK Health Security Agency, said the risk to the public is “extremely low.”
