The World Health Organization (WHO) has assured the public that the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship is not the beginning of another global pandemic.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, WHO officials said hantavirus spreads very differently from COVID-19 and currently poses a low public health risk.
Maria Van Kerkhove stressed that the situation is not comparable to the coronavirus pandemic.
“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.
Van Kerkhove explained that the Andes hantavirus spreads mainly through “close, intimate contact,” unlike COVID-19 or influenza, which are transmitted more easily through the air.
“This is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently,” she added.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, disclosed that eight cases linked to the outbreak have so far been identified, including three deaths.
According to him, five of the cases have been laboratory-confirmed, while three remain suspected.
Tedros explained that previous outbreaks of the Andes virus showed that human-to-human transmission occurred only after prolonged close contact, which appears consistent with the current outbreak.
“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 or their urine droppings or saliva,” he said.
“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.”
He added that earlier outbreaks mainly involved transmission among household members, intimate partners, and healthcare providers caring for infected patients.
“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,” Tedros said.
The WHO chief further revealed that hantavirus was not initially suspected when the first patient developed symptoms on April 9, and no samples were collected at the time.
He said the patient’s wife later disembarked when the ship docked at Saint Helena before later dying in Johannesburg, where tests confirmed hantavirus infection.
Tedros warned that more cases could still emerge because the disease has an incubation period of up to six weeks, although the organisation continues to assess the broader public health risk as low.
He also disclosed that he contacted Pedro Sánchez on Monday to request that Spain allow the ship to dock following the outbreak.
The vessel is currently heading to the Canary Islands, with passengers instructed to remain in their cabins while anyone showing symptoms has been ordered to isolate immediately.
