Six of the eight people who fell ill, including three who died, were confirmed cases of hantavirus linked to a cruise ship bound for Spain, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The agency said two other people were probable cases.
A ship bound for Spain’s Canary Islands left Cabo Verde 6 with 147 passengers and crew on board when the Hantavir outbreak was first reported on May 2, while 34 others have already left the vessel.
On Thursday, the cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, and Dutch officials said more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries had left the ship on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena on April 24.
The WHO said the risk to the wider global population is low, but the risk to passengers and crew on the ship is moderate.
- US President Donald Trump said the situation “seems fine” when asked about hantavirus. “It seems to be fine,” Trump told reporters. “It’s not easy to pass. So we hope it’s true.”
- The agency said the first case may have been infected before embarkation, possibly during travel in Argentina and Chile, with later spread likely to occur on the ship.
How does Hantavirus spread?
Inhaling contaminated rodent droppings usually spreads Hantavirus, and it is not easily transmitted between humans. Some scientists believe that the Andes virus involved in the cruise ship outbreak can spread between people in rare cases.
However, the World Health Organization has said the risk to the wider public is low. Symptoms usually appear between one and eight weeks after exposure.
Where did the Hantavirus epidemic come from?
Argentine investigators suspect the Dutch couple may have first contracted the virus on a bird-watching trip before boarding a cruise ship in Argentina on April 1. However, no organization has confirmed where and how he got the infection.
Argentina’s Ministry of Health focused on the country’s southernmost city, Ushuaia. Officials plan to travel there in the coming days, according to a written statement to The Associated Press.
