The World Health Organization (WHO) has said a hantavirus outbreak recorded aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean does not pose a high global public health risk and is not comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a total of eight cases have been identified so far, including five laboratory-confirmed infections and three suspected cases linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus.
The clarification follows reports of infections and d+aths linked to the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, where three passengers have d+ed and several others have fallen ill during a voyage from Argentina to Cabo Verde. The situation has triggered a coordinated international response involving health authorities across Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
The first alert was issued by the United Kingdom under the International Health Regulations (IHR) after passengers on board developed severe respiratory symptoms during the trip.
The WHO stressed that while hantaviruses are dangerous, they are typically zoonotic diseases transmitted from rodents to humans through contact with infected animals or exposure to their urine, saliva, or droppings. It added that the Andes strain is the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
Health authorities, however, maintained that the outbreak remains contained and does not indicate the beginning of a wider global pandemic.
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