WHO declares end to hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship from Argentina

Aerial image shows the cruise ship MV Hondius, where three people died with suspected hantavirus contamination.
AFP
The director of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared, this Thursday (2), that the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, which generated international alarm, has come to an end, after the last person was released from quarantine.
The head of the organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a press conference that he is "very pleased to say that the WHO considers the hantavirus outbreak to be over."
Thirteen cases have been linked to the cruise ship that sailed from the southern tip of Argentina, including three deaths.
"The last person who had contact with someone exposed to hantavirus on board the cruise ship MV Hondius completed the quarantine period, tested negative and returned home," said Ghebreyesus in Geneva.
"No other cases have been reported since May 25," he added.
In total, "more than 650 contacts have been identified and monitored by health authorities in 33 countries and territories," said the director.
The 13 cases identified in this outbreak represent only a small proportion compared to the tens of thousands of hantavirus infections, a rare virus for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment, reported each year.
Most of these infections, however, result from direct contact with an animal, usually a rodent. The concern here focused on the risk of person-to-person transmission: the strain involved, known as the Andes strain, is the only one known to allow this type of transmission.
American passengers on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, hit by hantavirus
AFP

Source: G1