The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, does not believe that the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship would resemble the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
WHO Human-to-human transmission of the hantavirus is believed to have occurred on the Hondius cruise ship, and three people on board have died.
Hantavirus symptoms include respiratory distress, fever, diarrhea and vomiting. The rare disease is usually transmitted by infected rodents via urine, faeces and saliva, but the Andean variant of the virus, confirmed in three cases, is transmissible between humans.
The WHO director-general told the AFP news agency that he believed “the risk to the rest of the world is low”. When asked if the WHO sees a similarity with the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, he answered in the negative.
Tedros said several meetings had been held to coordinate partners and the response, but added that he did not think it was necessary to call an emergency committee meeting on the situation with hantavirus cases. However, he admitted that last night was a bit tense.
“Three patients were evacuated just a couple of hours ago,” Tedros said, admitting his team had a sleepless night preparing for the evacuation.
Three patients are on their way to the Netherlands, while the ship “Hondius” will soon leave for the Spanish Canary Islands. “From there, of course, the rest of the passengers will go to their countries,” he added.
Tedros revealed that medics, including WHO staff, had boarded the ship and added that “we will continue to monitor and support the people on board as well as monitor the situation outside”.
“We are trying to do our best,” the WHO director-general assured.
The cruise ship “Hondius” with about 150 passengers and crew had set sail from southern Argentina and is currently anchored off the Cape Verde Islands.
Three passengers of the Dutch-flagged cruise ship “Hondius” have died in an outbreak of the disease.
The victims are an elderly Dutch couple and a German citizen. WHO currently suspects seven cases of infection with the virus, and laboratory tests are still ongoing.
The WHO believes that the start of the chain of infection was a Dutch couple who may have been infected before boarding the ship.
Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions said there were no rats on the ship, which was en route from Argentina to Cape Verde when passengers fell ill.
