The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that an outbreak of hantavirus occurred on a cruise ship in April, killing three people and raising fears of further spread.
“Today, the last contact of a person exposed to hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius completed his quarantine period, tested negative and returned home. No further cases have been reported since May 25.” Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusWHO Director General said in his Opening remarks at a press conference Thursday (July 2). “We are therefore very pleased to say that WHO considers the hantavirus outbreak to be over.”
The total number of cases linked to the outbreak was 13. All those affected were passengers or crew on the ship.
The outbreak began on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius after it departed from southern Argentina on April 1. andes virusIt is the only known hantavirus that can spread between people.
Hantavirus are rodent-borne viruses that are found in the Americas, Europe, and Asia and are relatively rarely spread to humans, usually through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents. However, Andes virus is less widespread human-to-human transmission chains Last.
Before public health officials were notified of the cases on the MV Hondius, several dozen people disembarked from the ship on the island of St. Helena. To find them, authorities launched an international contact-tracing operation, tracking more than 650 contacts in total who were followed by health authorities in 33 countries and territories, according to WHO.
Additionally, health officials coordinated the monitoring, care, and transportation of the remaining passengers and crew aboard the MV Hondius.
Of these contacts, those considered to be at highest risk of infection were then isolated and monitored for 42 days, because sometimes, symptoms of hantavirus do not appear until weeks after exposure to the virus. Depending on their jurisdiction and degree of risk, some contacts were isolated at home while others remained in special facilities.
The long incubation period of the virus as well as the initial uncontrolled travel of some contacts led to concern among the public that the cluster of cases could turn into a huge outbreak or even a global outbreak. pandemic. Many infectious-disease experts stressed that the Andes virus does not spread easily between people and that containment efforts were going wellTherefore the risk of a major outbreak was low. Still, some experts raised concerns that international travel of contacts could trigger pockets of deadly diseaseand some argued that Andes virus has “pandemic potential”“
Now, as the last contact has completed his quarantine period and no further cases have been reported, the WHO has declared the outbreak over. All contacts who were sent back to the US completed their work Quarantine period till 21st June.
“WHO will continue to work with governments and partners to advance our understanding of this outbreak and hantavirus more broadly,” Tedros said. “We are also coordinating a study involving 21 countries to understand how the disease evolves, which will support the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines for future outbreaks.”
In addition to rigorous contact tracing, WHO called for coordinated actions by national public health bodies as important to prevent further spread of the disease. These measures included the response of the Spanish government, which created a safe zone on the island of Tenerife for the ship’s remaining passengers to disembark before being sent back under quarantine.
As the hantavirus outbreak ends, there is a Ebola outbreak continues and one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Marburg virus outbreak in Uganda. WHO stressed that these and future outbreaks will require equally strong international cooperation.
“The outbreaks of Hantavirus, Ebola and Marburg show why there is no alternative to international cooperation in the face of global threats,” Tedros said. “No country can fight alone.”
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
