A deadly outbreak Hantavirus An incident on a cruise ship sent health officials scrambling to several countries. According to the World Health Organization, three passengers have died and at least five have become ill since April 11, with five confirmed cases of infection on board the ship so far from the Andean strain of hantavirus, which is mostly found in South America.
Despite the alarm, the World Health Organization moved quickly to calm public fears. “This is not the coronavirus, this is not the flu,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s chief of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, told a news conference in Geneva. “The way it spreads is very, very different.” She added firmly, “This is not the beginning of an epidemic, this is not the beginning of a pandemic.” new york times
Dutch flight attendant hospitalized after exposure to hantavirus
A Dutch flight attendant was hospitalized and tested for hantavirus on Thursday after coming into contact with an infected person, according to the Dutch Ministry of Health. Dutch media reported that the flight attendant worked for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
The exposure is believed to be linked to a 69-year-old Dutch woman, one of three cruise passengers who died, who boarded KLM flight 592 from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25, the day before her death in South Africa.
She remained on the plane for about an hour before airline staff removed her due to her rapidly deteriorating health. “No one on board thought they were dealing with a contagious virus,” Barbara de Beukelaar, a passenger on the flight, said, according to the New York Times.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the flight attendant had symptoms or whether she worked on a flight that she briefly boarded the day before a cruise ship outbreak victim died.
Also read: MV Hondius Hantavirus outbreak: How many Americans were on board? Latest updates
US states are monitoring passengers
Officials in three states are actively monitoring residents aboard the MV Hondius. Arizona is monitoring a resident who was a passenger on the boat. Georgia is monitoring two people who returned home. In California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the California Department of Public Health that residents were also on the boat, but the state did not disclose how many people were involved. new york times.
In addition, authorities have confirmed that none of the American passengers who were monitored at the time developed symptoms.
Also read: ‘We’re not just…’: Man trapped on MV Hondius breaks down after hantavirus outbreak
The search became more urgent after reports that about 40 passengers left the ship on April 24 without contact tracing or health checks. Mirror. This comes nearly two weeks after the first passenger died on board. Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that operates the cruise, first said 29 passengers had disembarked, while the Dutch Foreign Ministry estimated the number was closer to 40.
Passengers from at least 12 different countries disembarked on St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic. A man in Switzerland has reportedly tested positive for hantavirus after disembarking in St Helena and flying home. new york times. His exact whereabouts after leaving the ship remain unclear, complicating contact tracing.
Furthermore, the ship originally departed from Argentina, which the World Health Organization consistently ranks as the country with the highest incidence of rare rodent-borne diseases in Latin America. Officials and experts in Argentina are now reportedly scrambling to determine whether the country is the source of the outbreak. Mirror.
The MV Hondius is currently en route to the Canary Islands but will not dock there. Passengers will transfer to a boat to Tenerife for flights back to their home country. The ship is expected to arrive on Sunday.
