By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship is not the beginning of another global pandemic.
At a press briefing on Thursday, May 7, WHO officials said hantavirus spreads very differently from COVID-19 and currently poses a low public health risk.
WHO’s Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, Maria Van Kerkhove, noted that authorities are not facing a repeat of the global coronavirus pandemic, adding that the hantavirus is a typical outbreak seen on a ship.
“I want to be unequivocal here. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship,” she said.
According to Van Kerkhove, the Andes hantavirus spreads mainly through “close, intimate contact,” unlike COVID-19 or influenza, which spread more easily through the air.
“This is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently,” she said.
Also speaking, WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said eight cases have so far been identified, including three deaths.
He noted that five of the cases have been laboratory-confirmed while three remain suspected.
Ghebreyesus said previous outbreaks showed that human-to-human transmission only occurred after “prolonged contact,” which appears to have happened in this case.
He said, “Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe disease in humans. People are usually infected through contact with infected rodents, their urine droppings, or saliva.
“The species of hantavirus involved in this case is the Andes virus, which is found in Latin America and is the only species known to be capable of limited transmission between humans.
“In previous outbreaks of Andes virus, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members, intimate partners, and people providing medical care. That appears to be the case in the current situation.”
The WHO DG further noted that when the first patient developed symptoms on April 9, hantavirus was not initially suspected, and no samples were collected.
He said the patient’s wife later disembarked when the ship docked at St Helena before dying in Johannesburg, South Africa, where tests later confirmed hantavirus infection.
Ghebreyesus added that there is the possibility of more cases emerging because the disease has an incubation period of up to six weeks.
The WHO Director-General, however, noted that the organisation still assesses the wider public health risk of the virus as low and stressed that it was not a global pandemic.
He disclosed that he contacted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday to request that Spain accept the ship after the outbreak.
The vessel is now heading to Spain’s Canary Islands, with passengers ordered to remain in their cabins and anyone showing symptoms instructed to isolate immediately.
