Deadly hantavirus outbreak on expedition cruise ship Hondius triggered with COVID-19 pandemic At least three passengers died and many others became ill.
according to World Health OrganizationAmong the nearly 150 people on board, at least 8 suspected or confirmed cases of hantavirus have been found.
The ship is stuck off the coast of Cape Verde and officials are looking for a port willing to take it. It is now heading to the Canary Islands, where authorities plan to conduct a comprehensive outbreak investigation and decontamination process.
Several infected passengers have been medically evacuated, including a critically ill patient being treated in South Africa, where laboratory tests first confirmed the outbreak.
What is the Andean strain of hantavirus?
Health officials believe the outbreak involves the rare Andean strain of hantavirus, which is found primarily in South America, particularly Argentina and Chile.
Most hantaviruses are typically spread through contact with infected rodents, feces, or urine, and the Andes strain is the only hantavirus known to limit human-to-human transmission.
Maria Van Kerkhove said officials believed some passengers may have contracted the virus before boarding the ship in southern Argentina.
Also read: Hantavirus outbreak timeline: First case on April 11, global contact tracing
“We do believe that some human-to-human transmission may be occurring among really close contacts,” Van Kerkhove told a WHO briefing.
The cruise departed Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1, passing through Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islands. Passengers reportedly began to fall ill as the ship approached the island of St. Helena.
Experts say this is not another coronavirus situation
Despite growing concerns online, infectious disease experts say the outbreak is unlikely to trigger a COVID-19-style pandemic or global lockdown.
“This is not COVID,” Kari Moore Debbink told Today.com.
“I don’t think people need to worry that this is going to suddenly trigger a pandemic,” she added, saying she would be “absolutely shocked” if that happened.
Also read: ‘Experience is very limited…’: Experts provide key update after 3 evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship
Experts stress that the Andean strain spreads far less efficiently than SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Mara Jana Broadhurst explained that documented human-to-human transmission involving the Andes strain has historically been limited to close household contacts or health care workers.
The World Health Organization currently assesses the risk of the epidemic to global public health as “low.”
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the threat to the American public remains “extremely low.”
