WHO: Cruise ship hantavirus outbreak ‘Not the next Covid’
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius was “not the next Covid,” stressing that the global public health risk remains low despite growing international concern.
Three passengers have died and eight cases have been identified, including three laboratory-confirmed infections with the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can rarely spread between humans. The ship has been anchored off Cape Verde since Sunday.
Tedros said to AFP that three suspected patients were evacuated to Europe for treatment, while medical teams, including WHO staff, were assisting onboard. The ship is expected to continue to the Canary Islands, where passengers will disembark.
Argentine investigators believe a Dutch couple may have contracted the virus during a bird-watching excursion near a landfill in Ushuaia before boarding the vessel.
Health authorities in Switzerland and South Africa also confirmed Andes strain infections linked to former passengers. WHO officials said contact tracing is underway across Europe and Africa.
WHO epidemic expert Maria Van Kerkhove said the disease is serious but unlikely to spread widely, noting that hantavirus transmission between people is rare and generally requires close contact.
