Countries worldwide sought to prevent further spread of the hantavirus yesterday, after an outbreak on a cruise ship, by tracking those who had disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since. Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – died in the outbreak on MV Hondius.
In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the World Health Organisation said.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person.
All passengers who disembarked in St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship made a stop on April 24, have been contacted, the ship’s operator said.
This included people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the US.
The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came in early May.
The WHO repeated that the risk to the general public was low even if the Andean strain of the virus, found in several victims, can in rare cases be transmitted among humans.
“This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management, told a Press conference.
“This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”
The WHO said it was working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship, which is sailing to the Canary Islands, arrives there tomorrow or Sunday and the passengers disembark and travel home.
None of these passengers currently have any symptoms.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was closely monitoring the situation.
The Georgia Department of Public Health said it was monitoring two asymptomatic residents who had returned home after disembarking from the cruise ship.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said it was monitoring one resident, who was also on the ship, and was not symptomatic.
According to the New York Times, California was monitoring a number of residents who had been on the ship.
And in Texas, officials said that two residents who were passengers on the ship returned to the US before the outbreak was identified.
One French citizen has been in contact with a person who had fallen ill but was not showing symptoms, officials said.
Oceanwide Expeditions said it was now working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops since March 20.
The Dutch couple who died, and who are believed to be the first hantavirus cases of this outbreak, boarded on April 1.
Dutch airline KLM said it had taken the Dutch woman off a plane in Johannesburg on April 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition.
She died before she could reach the Netherlands.
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