WHO confirms 5 hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship
Al Jazeera Staff
The World Health Organization has confirmed five hantavirus infections, including three deaths, tied to a cruise ship in the Atlantic. WHO assesses public health risk as low but warns more cases may emerge due to the virus's long incubation period. The infected strain, Andes virus, is the only hantavirus known to transmit between humans under close contact.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on May 6 confirmed five cases of hantavirus linked to deaths aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, three other cases are suspected of being infected with the Andes strain of the virus.
Speaking at a press conference on May 6, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UK had notified WHO about a cluster of passengers with severe respiratory illness on the cruise ship Hondius, currently traveling from Cape Verde in the Atlantic to Tenerife, Spain.
“This is a serious incident, but WHO assesses the public health risk as low,” Tedros said. To date, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths—five confirmed and three suspected.
Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe illness in humans. People typically contract the virus through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings, or saliva.
The hantavirus strain detected on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship is Andes virus. This strain has previously been found in Latin America and is the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission. In past outbreaks, transmission between people has occurred during prolonged, close contact within households, among sexual partners, or in healthcare settings.
The first death aboard the ship was a man who developed symptoms on April 6 and died five days later. No specimens were taken because his symptoms resembled those of other viruses. The man’s wife was the second victim; she disembarked at Saint Helena, showed symptoms, and died on April 25. A third victim was a woman whose symptoms appeared on April 25; she died seven days later.
“With the incubation period for hantavirus potentially lasting up to six weeks, more cases are likely to emerge,” Tedros warned.
Before boarding, the first two victims had traveled to Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip. That itinerary included destinations where hantavirus-carrying rodents are present. Argentine authorities are investigating the couple’s movements. Tedros said Argentina would send 2,500 diagnostic test kits to laboratories in five countries.
WHO has notified 12 countries whose citizens disembarked at Saint Helena: the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States.
