Hantavirus Outbreak Unusual but Risk to Public Is Low
WHO says the unusual cruise ship outbreak is being investigated by experts from several countries, while the risk to the public remains low.
- The World Health Organisation confirmed on Wednesday that the cruise ship outbreak involves the Andes hantavirus, though experts state the risk to the general public remains low.
- Unlike most rodent-borne hantaviruses, the Andes strain is the only known variant capable of spreading through close, prolonged human-to-human contact.
- Infection can cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, leading to rapid fluid build-up in the lungs and heart complications, with fatality rates up to 50 per cent.
- The WHO's Americas branch warned in December that infections were rising in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay, as Argentina reported 21 deaths in 2025 among 66 cases.
- With no specific treatment available, therapy focuses on supportive care like rest and fluids, while contact tracing during outbreaks helps improve patient outcomes and prevents further virus spread.
12 Articles
12 Articles
The World Health Organization maintains its assessment of the outbreak, which qualifies as severe but content and the overall risk remains low.
Carlos Cuesta interview with virologist Raúl Ortiz de Lejarazu, who denied that the WHO forced Spain to host the ship,
In a short time, people are infested on a cruise ship with a virus. There are dead people who are afraid. Virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit orders what is happening: Is there a threat of a great outbreak?
The Hantavirus strain detected on one of the passengers of the MV Hondius evacuated to South Africa, is that of the Andes, transmissible between humans, said, Wednesday 6 May, the South African Minister of Health. The ship left on Wednesday its anchorage area off Cape Verde and set course towards Tenerife, one of the islands of the Canary Islands, where it must dock in the next few days, according to the Spanish authorities, which the President …
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