Hantavirus may have spread between passengers on cruise ship, WHO says
The World Health Organization believes there may have been human-to-human transmission of hantavirus among passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship, where three people have died. The virus, typically spread by rodents, may have been contracted before boarding, with close contact possibly enabling rare person-to-person spread. The ship remains off Cape Verde, with 149 people on board under precautionary measures while testing and monitoring continue.
- ▪Three passengers on the MV Hondius have died, with two confirmed and five suspected cases of hantavirus.
- ▪The WHO suggests the first case may have been infected before boarding, with potential transmission among close contacts like couples sharing rooms.
- ▪The cruise ship is anchored near Cape Verde and has not been allowed to dock yet, though Spain is considering allowing it to stop in the Canary Islands.
- ▪The Andes strain of hantavirus, found in South America, is suspected in the confirmed cases.
- ▪Spain's health ministry says a decision on docking will depend on epidemiological data collected from the vessel.
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Hantavirus may have spread between passengers on cruise ship, WHO says41 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleIan AikmanWatch: What is hantavirus? Cruise ship outbreak explainedThe World Health Organization says it believes there may have been human-to-human transmission of hantavirus on the Dutch cruise ship where three passengers have died.The virus is usually spread from rodents, but the WHO said in this instance it could have been spread among "really close contacts" aboard the MV Hondius vessel, before stressing that such transmission was rare and the risk to the public was low."Some people on the ship were couples, they were sharing rooms, so that's quite intimate contact," WHO official Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said.The WHO suspects that the first person to fall ill could have…
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