Greek passenger from Hantavirus-Hit cruise ship placed in quarantine in Athens
The passenger, whose identity has not been disclosed, showed no symptoms of infection and was transferred to a specially prepared negative-pressure isolation chamber as a precautionary measure.
The evacuation came after the vessel arrived Sunday in Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands following a deadly hantavirus outbreak on board.
Passenger transported under medical supervision
The Greek passenger was among 26 people flown to Eindhoven in the Netherlands before being transferred to Greece aboard a Greek Air Force C-130 aircraft under medical supervision.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said the passenger had not displayed any symptoms and sought to reassure the public.
“There is absolutely no cause for concern,” he wrote on social media.
Officials said the passenger will remain in quarantine for 45 days while being monitored.
WHO says public risk remains low
At least six people connected to the outbreak have tested positive for hantavirus, while three deaths have been reported, including one passenger who died aboard the ship.
Health authorities identified the outbreak as the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, one of the few variants capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
The World Health Organization stressed that the outbreak does not pose a major public threat.
“This is not another Covid,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “The risk to the public is low.”
Source:AP-Kathimerini
