"“This is not Covid, this is not influenza. It spreads very, very differently,” Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the World Health Organization, said at a press conference on Thursday."
"During the briefing, WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed eight hantavirus cases among passengers of the MV Hondius luxury cruise ship, including the three who died. Typically transmitted by rodents, hantavirus can cause severe disease in humans. People usually get sick by inhaling air that's contaminated with droppings, urine, or saliva from infected rodents."
"But the particular strain identified in the cruise ship cases, called the Andes virus, can spread between people. Health officials in several countries are working to trace the contacts of 29 people who disembarked the ship on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena on April 24, about two weeks after the first hantavirus death occurred."
"A Swiss man who left the ship early has tested positive for the virus and is being treated, and two people in the UK are reportedly self-isolating after returning home. Six people from the US were among those who got off the ship. “The Administration is closely monitoring the situation with U.S. travelers onboard the M/V Hondius cruise ship with confirmed hantavirus,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Wednesday."
A rare hantavirus outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius luxury cruise ship traveling to Spain’s Canary Islands, resulting in three deaths and eight confirmed passenger cases. Hantavirus is typically transmitted from infected rodents through inhalation of contaminated droppings, urine, or saliva. The identified Andes virus strain can spread between people, prompting contact tracing of 29 people who disembarked on St. Helena. Health officials in multiple countries are tracing contacts, with one Swiss passenger testing positive and receiving treatment and reports of self-isolation in the UK. The CDC is monitoring U.S. travelers onboard. Experts emphasize that hantavirus spreads differently from highly contagious respiratory diseases, so panic is unnecessary.
Read at WIRED
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