Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship: WHO chief says public health risk 'low', but more cases 'may be reported'

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday stated that the overall public health risk of hantavirus is low, but has also warned that additional cases linked to the outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius might emerge.

Speaking at a press briefing on the state of the hantavirus outbreak aboard the vessel headed for the Canary Islands, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also reiterated that the virus onboard the MV Hondius was the Andes virus.

While hantavirus is typically transmitted to humans when they come into contact with the urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents, the Andes is a rare strain of the hantavirus—originating in Latin America—that is capable of spreading between humans under close-contact conditions.

As a result, the WHO chief pointed out that the incubation period of the Andes strain could be "up to six weeks", which "made it possible that more cases may be reported", despite the low health risk at the time.

Dr Tedros also noted that at least three people had died in the eight cases reported so far.

"Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, and the other three are suspected," he said.

The ship is known to have stopped at Cabo Verde amid its journey to the Canary Islands, where a WHO expert—in addition to two Netherlands-based doctors and an expert from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control—boarded it.

These health officials are conducting a medical assessment of all passengers onboard the vessel and gathering more information to assess the risk of the virus spreading.

"WHO is developing step-by-step operational guidance for the safe and respectful disembarkation and onward travel of passengers and crew when they arrive," Dr Tedros explained.

This information is expected to play a major role in then identifying and preventing the possible spread of the virus from the 23 passengers aboard the MV Hondius who had been evacuated from the ship earlier, and returned to their homes in various parts of the world, including the US.