Daijiworld Media Network – Geneva
Geneva, May 8: Health authorities across several countries are intensifying efforts to trace and monitor people connected to a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, even as the World Health Organization (WHO) said the risk of a widespread global outbreak remains limited.
The outbreak has been linked to the MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise ship, where at least three passengers have died and five confirmed cases of hantavirus infection have been reported since April 11.
According to the WHO, all confirmed cases involve the Andes strain of hantavirus — the only known strain capable of limited human-to-human transmission. The virus is primarily spread through close personal contact and is commonly carried by rodents.
WHO official Dr Maria Van Kerkhove stressed that the situation is very different from Covid-19 or influenza.
“This is not the start of an epidemic or pandemic,” she said during a media briefing in Geneva, adding that the virus spreads in a much more limited manner.
Several countries, including the Netherlands, France, Singapore, Denmark, Germany and the United States, have launched contact tracing and testing measures for passengers, crew members and others who may have come into contact with infected individuals.
In the Netherlands, three people who developed symptoms after exposure to an infected passenger on a flight were tested. Two were confirmed negative, while one result remained under analysis.
A Dutch flight attendant who reportedly came into contact with an infected passenger also underwent testing. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said the crew member tested negative in two separate tests, though health authorities continue to monitor the situation due to the virus’s long incubation period.
One of the victims, a 69-year-old Dutch woman, had briefly boarded a KLM flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam before she died in South Africa on April 26. Airline authorities said she was removed from the aircraft before departure after her health deteriorated.
KLM has since shared passenger details with health authorities for contact tracing.
Meanwhile, Oceanwide Expeditions, the company operating the cruise ship, confirmed that two crew members showing symptoms — a British national and a Dutch citizen — were evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment. A German passenger without symptoms was also evacuated and is undergoing medical evaluation in Germany.
The ship, carrying nearly 150 passengers and crew from around two dozen countries, is currently headed towards the Canary Islands but will reportedly remain offshore while passengers are evacuated in phases.
Health experts have urged caution but advised against panic. Infectious disease specialists said the known transmission pattern of the Andes strain does not currently indicate a risk of rapid global spread.
Genetic analysis conducted in South Africa reportedly found no significant mutations in the virus samples linked to the outbreak, suggesting the strain remains similar to previously identified variants from Argentina.
Authorities are continuing to trace passengers who disembarked from the ship in multiple countries over recent weeks. Monitoring and isolation measures have also been initiated for individuals in Switzerland, Singapore, Denmark, France and the United States.
Global health agencies are expected to continue surveillance as investigations into the outbreak progress.