There is good news and bad news on the Hantavirus cruise ship front.
As of Wednesday morning, health officials have finally identified the exact strain of hantavirus responsible for the outbreak in MV. Hondius. In addition, three people suspected of contracting the disease, including the ship’s doctor, were medically evacuated. But on the more negative side, a French citizen may have contracted the virus from a flight they shared with an infected person Hondius passenger – appears to be the first case of human-to-human transmission outside of a ship.
Patients”They are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in coordination with the WHO, the operator of the vessel and the national authorities of Cape Verde, Great Britain, Spain and the Netherlands,” he said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday.
A known species and new cases
It was the health authorities in South Africa first species, to identify the Andes virus. The virus was found in two people who left the cruise ship: a Dutch woman who died after becoming seriously ill, and a British man who is still in intensive care at a hospital in Johannesburg.
Hantavirus infections usually transmitted by contact with infected rodents or their feces/urine. But the Andes virus is the only known type that can spread between humans. Human-to-human transmission of Andes virus is rare, but has occurred mainly in South America. The woman was a close contact of a man who is now believed to be the first case of the outbreak; Both had been through South America before embarking Hondius scheduled for a multi-stop cruise from Argentina to Cape Verde on the West African coast on April 1.
The man died four days after he first became ill in April, but was never tested for potential infections. The woman left the cruise on April 24 and arrived in St. Helena when she became ill with gastrointestinal symptoms. He quickly deteriorated and died two days later, but not before boarding a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.
As of May 4, there are two confirmed and five suspected cases of hantavirus Hondius passengers and crew. Three of them died after the disease. Swiss and WHO health officials on Wednesday morning informed the third confirmed and eighth total case involving a Swiss national who abandoned ship. It is reported that the man has been isolated and is being treated at Zurich University Hospital.
The sun too informed A potential ninth case was documented today involving a French national who shared a flight with a Dutch woman. However, the article currently does not cite an official source for the report. Gizmodo reached out to the WHO and France’s National Public Health Agency for comment on this possible incident, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
fate Hondius
The remaining passengers and crew on the cruise ship are reported to have no symptoms of illness. Until recently, the ship was docked just off Cape Verde. Spanish government planning where passengers will be evacuated for the ship to proceed to the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, the largest city in the Canary Islands. The Spanish passengers will then be quarantined at a military base in Madrid, while other passengers will be sent home if they are free of infection (the virus can take several weeks to become symptomatic after exposure).
But Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo has apparently rejected the plan, saying Spanish officials are not communicating adequately with his government.
“This decision is not based on any technical criteria, nor is there enough information to reassure the public or ensure their safety,” Clavijo told radio station COPE, Reuters informed Wednesday.
The identification of Andes virus in this outbreak was expected, but confirmation was essential. For starters, it rules out other potentially alarming scenarios, such as the emergence of a new strain of hantavirus or a variant of a known strain better adapted to humans. Andes virus is also still spread primarily through exposure to rodents, and human-to-human transmission usually requires close, prolonged contact with infected people.
However, it happened outbreaks where Andes virus is suspected to spread relatively easily between humans. Given this recent potential incident involving a flight passenger, it is certainly possible that such a situation could occur again. So while the threat to the general public is still low, we’re not out of the woods yet.
