A rare strain of hantavirus, known to spread between people in close contact, has been identified in patients linked to a deadly outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship. The health ministry in South Africa confirmed the Andes strain<\/strong> of the virus in two individuals evacuated from the vessel to the country.<\/p>\n Three passengers on the MV Hondius have died since the ship departed Argentina approximately a month ago for a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, three people exhibiting symptoms were evacuated to the Netherlands for medical care, as announced by the World Health Organization (WHO). The evacuees included a 56-year-old Briton, a 41-year-old Dutch national, and a 65-year-old German. The WHO also confirmed that a Swiss man, who had returned to Switzerland after being on board, is receiving treatment for hantavirus in Zurich.<\/p>\n “At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” stated WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He added that “monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated.” Eight cases of hantavirus\u2014three confirmed and five suspected\u2014have been identified among those on the ship, according to the latest WHO update. The health body consistently emphasizes the low risk of transmission to the wider public.<\/p>\n Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents through their faeces, saliva, and urine. However, experts have observed the Andes strain<\/strong>, which is prominent in Latin America where the cruise originated, spreading between human patients in previous outbreaks. South African health authorities confirmed this strain in both confirmed patients after tests by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. A document presented to South Africa’s parliament highlighted that the Andes strain is “the only strain that is known to cause human to human transmission,” though it stressed that such transmission is rare and occurs only in “very close contact.”<\/p>\n Efforts are underway to trace all known contacts of infected individuals, including paramedics, ambulance drivers, port officials, flight personnel, and health workers. As of the latest report, 42 of 62 identified contacts have been traced. Of the two cases confirmed in South Africa, one was a Dutch woman who died after her husband had already passed away at sea, and the other is a 69-year-old Briton receiving treatment in a Johannesburg hospital.<\/p>\n Around 150 people remain aboard the MV Hondius under “strict precautionary measures.” The vessel is currently anchored near Cape Verde and intends to travel to the Canary Islands, where passengers could disembark. Spanish authorities have agreed to this plan, with the health ministry stating that passengers would arrive within three to four days. However, Fernando Clavijo, President of the Canary Islands, has announced his strong opposition, demanding an urgent meeting with Spain’s prime minister. “I cannot allow [the boat] to enter the Canaries,” Clavijo told Spain’s Onda Cero radio, citing a lack of technical criteria and insufficient information. He called for “safety and guarantees for the passengers and for the people of the Canary Islands.” Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise operator, stated that the Canary Islands are the closest location with necessary capabilities and that Spain has a “moral and legal obligation to assist these people.” Upon arrival, crew and passengers would be examined and cared for in “special spaces and transports” to avoid contact with the local population.<\/p>\n #HantavirusOutbreak #CruiseShipSafety #AndesStrain #PublicHealth #WHO #MVHondius #CanaryIslands #Epidemiology #GlobalHealth #InfectiousDisease<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship A rare strain of hantavirus, known to spread between people in close contact, has been identified in patients linked to a deadly outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship. The health ministry in South Africa confirmed the Andes strain of the virus in two individuals evacuated from the vessel to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fatalities and Evacuations<\/h3>\n
Public Health Risk and Monitoring<\/h3>\n
Virus Transmission and Strain Specifics<\/h3>\n
Contact Tracing Efforts<\/h3>\n
Disembarkation Plans and Opposition<\/h3>\n