According to WHO, eight cases have been laboratory confirmed as the Andes strain, the only known subtype of hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission. Two more cases are considered probable, one remains under investigation.
As DW reports, the organization stressed that the risk of spreading the infection to the global population remains low. However, for the ship’s passengers and crew, the risk level is assessed as moderate. National health authorities have already started contact tracing through the International Health Regulations mechanism.
Note that the outbreak occurred in early May on board the liner MV Hondius, traveling from Argentina to Cape Verde under the flag of the Netherlands. Among the dead were a married couple from the Netherlands and a German citizen. French and Spanish nationals were also infected after they returned home.
About 150 people were on board, mostly citizens of the United States, Britain, Spain and the Netherlands. After the ship entered the Canary Islands, the passengers were evacuated by special flights and sent to their home countries for quarantine and treatment. The liner itself headed to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected.
The WHO recommends that anyone who has been in contact with infected people should be quarantined for 42 days after the last contact. Others are instructed to monitor their health and seek medical attention if they develop symptoms.
Specialists note that the Andean strain is much more difficult to spread than COVID-19. Close and prolonged contact is required for transmission. In addition, the incubation period can last up to eight weeks, so new cases of the disease among passengers are still possible.
Anne Rimoyne, a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health, said the current situation cannot be compared to a coronavirus pandemic. According to her, we are talking about “a completely different virus and different circumstances.”
