Global alert after hantavirus linked to cruise ship reaches 12 countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed five hantavirus cases, including three deaths, linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, with three more suspected. The outbreak, traced to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, has affected nationals from 12 countries.

New Delhi: Amid the global alarm, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday confirmed five hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship outbreak, while three additional cases remain suspected.

Eight severe respiratory illness cases, including three deaths, have been identified, with five confirmed as Andes virus infections.

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WHO has now informed 12 countries whose nationals disembarked the cruise ship MV Hondius earlier during the voyage at the remote British territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Those 12 countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing in Geneva that the agency currently expects the outbreak to remain “limited” if appropriate public health measures are implemented quickly and effectively.

He, however, warned that additional cases remain possible as authorities continue tracing exposed passengers and contacts across multiple countries.

WHO said around 2,500 hantavirus diagnostic kits are being shipped from laboratories in Argentina to five countries.

There are 149 people on the MV Hondius, the ship’s Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions told the media. There are 23 nationalities on board.

Meanwhile, two suspected hantavirus patients evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius remained aboard a grounded air ambulance in Spain’s Canary Islands while awaiting a replacement aircraft following a technical malfunction, Spain’s Health Ministry said.

The aircraft had departed from Cape Verde and was originally expected to refuel in the western Moroccan city of Marrakesh en route to Amsterdam. However, according to Spanish media reports, Moroccan authorities did not authorise the landing.

“During the refuelling stop, the plane’s doctor reported a failure in the patient’s electrical support system,” Spain’s Health Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, Spain announced that it will receive the hantavirus-linked vessel MV Hondius in the Canary Islands in accordance with international law and the spirit of humanitarianism, the Spanish Health Ministry said in a statement on social media.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the situation on board to determine which individuals require urgent evacuation in Cape Verde. The remaining passengers and crew will continue to the Canary Islands, with arrival expected within three to four days.