According to AFP, WHO “Eight cases have been laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus (ANDV) infection, two of which are possible, and one case has not yet been concluded and is undergoing further testing,” it said.The outbreak has so far resulted in the deaths of three people on board the ship, which set off from Argentina on a transatlantic voyage on April 1. The World Health Organization said two of the deceased had been diagnosed with Andes virus, while the third was listed as a probable case.Hantaviruses are usually spread through contact with the urine, saliva, or feces of infected rodents. There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for the disease.
World Health Organization says public health risk stay low
The World Health Organization insists the public health risk remains “moderate” to passengers and crew on board, but “low” to the rest of the world.The World Health Organization believes the first infection likely occurred before the cruise began, as the first victim was a 70-year-old Dutch passenger who developed symptoms on April 6.The virus has an incubation period of one to six weeks.According to AFP, the unconclusive case involves an American passenger who has been deported back to the United States. The passenger is currently asymptomatic and is undergoing further testing after testing positive and negative.
U.S. patients are still being monitored
According to the Associated Press, more than 120 passengers and crew members were evacuated from the cruise ship and sent to various countries for quarantine and monitoring.Among them was Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an oncologist from Oregon who was placed in a special biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after a nasal swab showed inconclusive results.Kornfeld later told CNN, “I feel great, 100 percent.” He said he suffered flu-like symptoms earlier in the voyage, including chills, fatigue and night sweats, but has since recovered.Kornfeld has now been cleared to leave the biocontainment unit and be transferred to a standard quarantine facility along with other Americans under surveillance.U.S. health officials say the broader public risk remains low because hantaviruses do not spread easily from person to person, although the Andes strain found in the outbreak rarely spreads from person to person.The World Health Organization recommends that all passengers and crew on board continue to quarantine for 42 days.
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