© REUTERS / Dado Ruvic
“There is no cause for concern at the moment,” the European Commission said about the hantavirus outbreak, Euronews reported.
The so-called Health Safety Committee, which brings together health officials from across the bloc, met on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Commission held two separate meetings, first with Dutch and Spanish authorities and then with all member states whose nationals are or were on board.
“According to the available data, according to the current situation, there is no cause for concern at the moment,” Eva Grncirova, the European Commission’s health spokeswoman, said at a press briefing Thursday afternoon. – The risk to the population in Europe, the risk to Europeans, is low. The health of citizens in Europe is our absolute priority, and that certainly applies to this case.”
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which sent an expert to the ship, and the World Health Organization (WHO) are also involved in coordinating efforts, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Spain has activated the EU’s civil protection mechanism, which helps mobilize assistance from member states to deal with emergencies.
According to figures released by Oceanwide Expeditions, the company operating the MV Hondius, the ship originally had 149 people on board – 88 passengers and 61 crew members – when it left Argentina on April 1.
Spain, France, Germany, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Poland and Portugal are the EU countries whose nationals are on board.
So far, the World Health Organization has reported 8 cases of hantavirus, including 3 deaths.
Hantavirus belongs to a group of rodent-borne viruses transmitted to humans primarily by inhalation of airborne particles from dried rodent droppings.
The World Health Organization says human-to-human hantavirus infections are “unusual” and the current outbreak cannot be compared to COVID-19 or influenza.
