Three people have died and several others have fallen ill aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, prompting a major international public health response involving countries across Europe, Africa and Latin America.
The first warning came from the United Kingdom, which notified WHO under the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the outbreak after passengers on board the vessel developed severe respiratory illness during the trip from Argentina to Cabo Verde.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus briefed reporters in Geneva, said eight cases have been reported so far, including five laboratory-confirmed infections and three suspected cases linked to the rare Andean strain of hantavirus
Low risk to humans
Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses carried by rodents and are usually transmitted to humans by contact with infected animals or their urine, saliva or feces (box WHO’s hantavirus fact sheet here).
The Andean strain found in parts of Latin America is the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
According to WHO, transmission generally requires close and prolonged contactespecially among household members, intimate partners or healthcare professionals.
“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains lowsaid Dr. Tedros.
WHO officials are clear that the outbreak is very different from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic that killed millions worldwide.
“This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s acting director for epidemics and pandemic management.
“Hantavirus has been around for a while. We know this virus. It does not spread in the same way as the coronavirus does.”
Investigation underway
The first known patient developed symptoms on April 6 and later died on board the vessel. His wife also fell ill and died after being evacuated to South Africa, where laboratory tests confirmed hantavirus infection.
Before boarding, the pair had traveled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip, including visits to sites where rodent species known to carry the virus are present.
Another passenger died on May 2, and while one man remains in intensive care in South Africa, the WHO said his condition is improving. Other patients have been transferred to hospitals in the Netherlands for treatment.
WHO said no passengers or crew currently on board the ship are showing symptoms.
International efforts
The outbreak has triggered action under the International Health Regulations, the global framework designed to coordinate responses to cross-border health threats.
The WHO said it is working closely with authorities in Cabo Verde, Spain, Netherlands, South Africa, United Kingdom and Argentina together with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Spain has agreed to allow the vessel to dock in the Canary Islands – an autonomous Spanish community – after Cabo Verde rejected the request due to public health concerns.
Dr. Tedros thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for what he described as an act of “solidarity” and “moral duty”.
“The risk to the population of the Canary Islands is actually low.”
WHO initiative in Cabo Verde
A WHO expert, Dutch doctors and a European disease specialist boarded the ship in Cabo Verde earlier this week and are monitoring medical assessments and infection prevention measures during the journey to Tenerife.
speaks to PakinomistWHO representative in Cabo Verde Ann Lindstrand said the agency had supported local authorities from the beginning of the outbreak response.
“During the trip to the Canary Islands, we have been able to bring medical supplies, so if someone gets sick on the boat, there will be doctors and supplies to take care of them during the journey.”
She said in coordination with the WHO, national health authorities are contacting passengers who disembarked earlier to advise them to seek medical attention quickly if symptoms develop.
Passengers still on board have been asked to remain in their cabins while disinfection procedures are carried out. Anyone who develops symptoms will be isolated immediately.
Disinformation on social media
- Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause serious illness in humans.
- People usually become infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva.
- Infection with hantavirus can cause a variety of illnesses, including severe illness and death.
- In America, hantavirus can cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a serious respiratory illness, with a mortality rate of up to 50 percent.
- Andes virus, found in South America, is a currently known hantavirus for which limited human-to-human transmission among contacts has been documented.
- In Europe and Asia, hantavirus causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program addressed misinformation circulating on social media that there no signs that this is the early stages of a pandemic.
Infection has occurred in a confined environment involving prolonged close contact between passengers on board the ship, similar to a limited Andean hantavirus outbreak recorded in Argentina in 2018-2019. In that case, transmission was linked to a social gathering involving a symptomatic person and resulted in only a small number of cases.
Dr. Mahamud said existing public health measures, including contact tracing, isolation and surveillance, are well understood and can effectively break chains of transmission, making a large-scale epidemic unlikely.
Monitoring continues
The WHO warned that additional cases may still emerge due to the incubation period of Andean hantavirus can be up to six weeks.
“Viruses don’t care about politics, and they don’t care about borders,” said Dr. Tedros. “The best immunity we have is solidarity.”
