Countries worldwide sought to prevent further spread of the hantavirus on Thursday, after an outbreak on a cruise ship, by tracking those who had already disembarked before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since.
Three people — a Dutch couple and a German national — died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius.
In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents, but can, in rare cases, be transmitted person-to-person.
All passengers who disembarked in St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship made a stop on April 24, have been contacted, the ship’s operator said, adding this included people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the US The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came in early May.
‘This is not Covid’
The WHO repeated that the risk to the general public was “low” even if the Andean strain of the virus, found in several victims, can, in rare cases, be transmitted among humans.
“This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management, told a press conference. “This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”
The WHO said it was working on step-by-step guidance for when the dozens of passengers remaining on the ship, which is sailing to the Canary Islands, arrive there on Saturday or Sunday and the passengers disembark and travel home. None of these passengers currently has any symptoms.
Contact tracing, monitoring
The United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was closely monitoring the situation, adding that the risk to the American public was extremely low at the time.
The Georgia Department of Public Health said it was monitoring two asymptomatic residents who had returned home after disembarking from the cruise ship.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said it was monitoring one resident, who was also on the ship, and was not symptomatic.
According to the New York Times, California was monitoring a number of residents who had been on the ship.
One French citizen has been in contact with a person who had fallen ill but was not showing symptoms, officials said.
Contact tracing
Oceanwide Expeditions said they were now working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops since March 20.
The Dutch couple who have died, and who are believed to be the first hantavirus cases of this outbreak, only boarded on April 1.
Dutch airline KLM said it had taken the Dutch woman off a plane in Johannesburg on April 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition. She died before she could reach the Netherlands.
According to broadcaster RTL, a KLM stewardess who had been in contact with her has now been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam after showing possible hantavirus symptoms.
Crew and passengers who helped the Dutch woman who passed away are being called daily for health checks, Dutch authorities told public broadcaster NOS.
Evacuations, tests
Three patients were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday. Two have been admitted to a hospital in the Netherlands, while another one was transferred to Germany for medical care.
Martin Anstee, an expedition guide, was one of the two evacuees in hospital in the Netherlands, according to Sky News, and told them he was “doing okay” but “there are still lots of tests to be done”.
The Düsseldorf University Clinic, treating the German evacuee, said she was not a confirmed case but rather a contact and was undergoing tests.
In Switzerland, a person admitted to the hospital on Monday was stable but showed symptoms consistent with a hantavirus infection, the hospital said.
A Danish citizen who was aboard the Hondius has returned home and has been advised to self-isolate as a precaution, Danish health authorities said.
