WHO releases update on hantavirus outbreak; 11 cases reported
The World Health Organization issued a new update on the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, saying 11 cases have been reported, including three deaths, while the risk to the global population remains low.
The latest update, released Wednesday, includes two additional confirmed cases in France and Spain and one inconclusive case in the United States. WHO said all three were passengers on the Dutch-flagged expedition cruise ship.
As of May 13, eight cases have been laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus infections, two are probable cases and one remains inconclusive while additional testing is carried out. The three deaths include two confirmed cases and one probable case, WHO said.
The case in France became symptomatic during repatriation, while the case in Spain tested positive after arrival but is currently well and asymptomatic. The U.S. case is also asymptomatic but had one positive and one negative result from two different laboratories after being tested because of high-risk exposure to confirmed cases on board.
WHO said the working hypothesis remains that the first case acquired the infection before boarding the ship, likely through exposure on land. Investigators are working with authorities in Argentina and Chile to determine the possible source of exposure.
Current evidence suggests the virus then spread from person to person on board the ship. WHO said preliminary genetic sequencing showed the virus samples from different cases were closely related and nearly identical.
Andes virus is a hantavirus found in parts of South America and is the only hantavirus known to spread between people in some circumstances.
Human-to-human transmission has generally been limited to close contacts after prolonged exposure, but WHO said the ship environment likely increased the risk because of close living quarters, shared indoor spaces and frequent interaction.
The outbreak was first reported to WHO on May 2 after a cluster of severe respiratory illness, including two deaths and one critically ill passenger, was identified aboard the MV Hondius. The ship had been carrying passengers and crew during an expedition voyage in the South Atlantic.
Follow-up and contact tracing are ongoing for passengers who disembarked in Saint Helena on April 24, Praia in Cabo Verde on May 6, and Tenerife in Spain on May 10 and 11. Passengers who were on flights with people later confirmed to have the virus have also been identified and contacted.
The ship arrived in the Canary Islands on May 10, where disembarkation began. WHO said passengers and most crew members were repatriated on specially arranged non-commercial flights.
The MV Hondius left the Canary Islands on May 11 and is sailing to the Netherlands with 25 crew members still on board. Two Dutch health and care workers are also on the ship to monitor the crew and provide medical care if needed.
WHO said the risk to people who were on board the cruise ship is moderate, while the risk to the global population remains low.
The agency said additional cases may occur among people exposed before containment measures were put in place, but quarantine, contact monitoring and rapid isolation of suspected cases are expected to limit further spread.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
