WHO says public risk remains low in cruise ship hantavirus outbreak

The number of confirmed and probable Andes hantavirus cases linked to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius has risen to 13, including three deaths. WHO said the overall public health risk remains low while multiple countries continue monitoring passengers and conducting contact tracing.

By Ashmit Mazumder

Geneva: Health authorities are continuing to monitor the Andes hantavirus outbreak linked to the Dutch expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, with the total number of confirmed and probable cases rising to 13, including three deaths.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said a second case was confirmed in Spain on May 27. The patient, a Spanish passenger from the ship, was identified while under clinical surveillance at Gomez Ulla Hospital in Madrid along with other passengers who had disembarked from the vessel.

Spanish health officials said the patient had close contact with another infected passenger during the voyage and is currently being treated in a high-level isolation unit.

Another positive case was detected in the Netherlands on May 22 after a crew member tested positive. The ship had arrived in Rotterdam on May 18.

Authorities said there was no public health risk as the case was identified within the existing isolation and monitoring system.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 11 confirmed cases and two probable cases linked to the outbreak have been reported so far.

The ECDC said additional cases being detected after passengers returned to their home countries were expected because the Andes hantavirus can have an incubation period of up to eight weeks.

In the United States, three residents of Kansas who were exposed to an infected person during an international flight were discharged from the University of Kansas Hospital on May 2, though they continue to remain under medical observation.

Australian authorities have meanwhile extended quarantine requirements for returning passengers to 42 days due to incubation concerns. Several passengers remain under supervised observation near Perth, with no new illnesses reported so far.

WHO said the overall public health risk remains low, adding that transmission of the Andes strain appears limited to close and prolonged contact with symptomatic individuals.

Health authorities said containment measures and contact tracing efforts were continuing across multiple countries.