WHO chief warns there ‘will be more hantavirus cases in the coming weeks’

One of the world’s leading health experts issued a simple warning yesterday: expect more hantavirus cases.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said there are ‘no signs’ a pandemic is in the cards.

He told a press conference in Madrid: ‘But of course, the situation could change.

‘And given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.’

Three people who were aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean have died of the rare but deadly disease.

At least 85 guests and 35 crew members have been evacuated from the vessel, tour operator Oceania Expeditions said on Monday.

At least eight other people who were on the ship have fallen ill or tested positive. Among them are a US citizen and a French woman, 65, who both tested positive after being evacuated.

Ghebreyesus said the 150 aboard the ship across the nearly six weeks since the ship left Argentina have faced ‘a very frightening situation’.

‘Some of the passengers were facing mental breakdown,’ he added. ‘They have the right to be treated with dignity and compassion.

‘There were some people around the world calling for the passengers to be contained on the ship for the full quarantine period.

‘Our view was that would have been inhumane and unnecessary.’

Passengers were flown back from Tenerife, in the Spanish Canary Islands, to their home countries on Sunday and Monday.

Ghebreyesus acknowledged that those living in Tenerife were ‘concerned’ about the passengers and cruise disembarking on the island.  

He added: ‘We said the risk was low, both to the people of Tenerife and globally, and all our efforts over the past week have been aimed at keeping it low. 

‘This is a serious situation, which we have taken – and continue to take – very seriously.’

Ghebreyesus praised Spain for the ‘compassion and solidarity’ it has shown the holidaymakers.

But he urged governments to do the same with the passengers and ensure they quarantine for at least 42 days.

The MV Hondius will anchor at Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Monday where it will be disinfected, Oceanwide Exepetitions said yesterday.

What is hantavirus?

Hantavirus, sometimes called the ‘rat virus’, is a rare family of pathogens carried by rodents – there is no vaccine or cure.

The virus spreads through contact with the faeces, urine and saliva of infected rodents.

Early symptoms can be easily mistaken for the flu, such as fever, chills or body aches, but can escalate to heart or lung failure.

At the centre of the cruise outbreak is the Andes strain, which is endemic to South America, including Argentina, where the ship departed on April 1.

Dr Stathis Giotis, a lecturer in life sciences at the University of Essex, told Metro that the Andes hantavirus is the only known strain that can be spread from human to human, though cases of this are few and far between.

‘It is clearly a serious situation for those directly affected and it deserves careful public health follow-up, but there is no evidence at present that this represents a broader epidemic threat,’ he said.

People who may get in contact with rat droppings, like agricultural workers or people simply cleaning their sheds, are at high risk.

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