WHO: No pandemic after hantavirus outbreak

International

THE World Health Organization (WHO) clarified that the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius is “not Covid” and should not be treated as the beginning of another global pandemic.

In a report by BBC, WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove said the virus spreads “very, very differently” from Covid-19 and influenza, explaining that transmission requires “close, intimate contact.”

“This is not Covid, this is not influenza,” van Kerkhove said during a WHO news briefing.

The outbreak aboard the Dutch cruise vessel has so far resulted in five confirmed hantavirus cases out of eight suspected infections. Three deaths have also been reported, including a 69-year-old Dutch woman confirmed to have contracted the virus.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization currently “assesses the public health risk as low.”

Health authorities are now tracing passengers and crew members from the MV Hondius, which carried around 150 people from 28 countries during its voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Spain’s Canary Islands.

According to WHO, the first confirmed patients had reportedly traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip before boarding the cruise. Officials noted that the group had visited areas inhabited by rats known to carry hantavirus.

The outbreak has drawn international concern after WHO documented human-to-human transmission for the first time in this incident, although the virus is traditionally spread through contact with infected rodents.

Authorities warned that additional cases may still emerge because hantavirus can have an incubation period of up to six weeks.

WHO advised everyone on board the ship to wear masks, while those caring for infected individuals were urged to use higher levels of personal protective equipment.(Zsarrhied Samantha A. Tanjay,

CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)