Geneva/London, May 8 (EFE).- The World Health Organization said Friday that the hantavirus linked to the outbreak aboard the luxurious cruise ship MV Hondius is transmitted only through very close contact and poses a low risk to the general population.
Meanwhile, UK authorities confirmed a third British national has developed symptoms consistent with the virus.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said transmission may occur through exposure to saliva or respiratory secretions when an infected person coughs, sneezes or spits in very close proximity to another person.
“Close contact means being practically face-to-face, in direct proximity, sharing a very close space with possible exposure to saliva or secretions when coughing or spitting,” Lindmeier told a press conference in Geneva.
He stressed that even among people sharing cabins aboard the affected cruise ship, there were cases in which one person became infected while the other did not, underscoring the limited transmissibility of the virus.
“This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,” Lindmeier said.
Lindmeier also sought to reassure the public by emphasizing that the outbreak was not comparable to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is not a new Covid. The risk to the population is absolutely low,” he said, adding that hantavirus spreads less easily than highly contagious diseases such as measles.
The WHO comments came as the agency confirmed that a KLM flight attendant hospitalized in Amsterdam with suspected hantavirus symptoms had tested negative, leaving the number of known infections linked to the outbreak at eight.
WHO spokespeople told EFE that the Netherlands’ International Health Regulations focal point had informed the organization of the negative test result.
Unlike the other eight patients tied to the outbreak, the flight attendant had not been aboard the MV Hondius.
According to Dutch health authorities, the crew member had previously come into contact in Johannesburg with a cruise passenger who later died after contracting hantavirus.
The 69-year-old woman was the wife of the first victim linked to the outbreak, who died aboard the ship on Apr. 11.
She disembarked on Apr. 24 on Saint Helena along with her husband’s body and around 30 other passengers before flying to Johannesburg the following day, where she died on Apr. 26.
Dutch public health officials said the flight attendant was among five people who had close contact with the woman during a Johannesburg-to-Amsterdam flight on Apr. 25. Reports said the passenger attempted to board the aircraft despite her worsening condition, but crew members ultimately prevented her from flying.
Of the eight confirmed cases linked to the cruise ship, three people have died, one patient remains hospitalized in Johannesburg, and four others are receiving treatment in hospitals in Zurich, Düsseldorf, Nijmegen and Leiden.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency said Friday that a third British national in the South Atlantic territory of Tristan da Cunha had developed symptoms consistent with hantavirus after contact linked to the cruise ship.
The person remains in Tristan da Cunha, where the vessel stopped in April during its Atlantic voyage.
UK authorities also confirmed that two other British men have tested positive for hantavirus. One remains in stable condition in the Netherlands after being medically evacuated from the ship on Wednesday, while the second is in intensive care in Johannesburg after being transferred to South Africa for treatment.
Three passengers traveling on the cruise have died since the vessel departed from Ushuaia about a month ago on a voyage bound for Cape Verde.
According to Oceanwide Expeditions, around 150 people remain on board under strict precautionary measures, including 19 British passengers and four British crew members.
The ship is expected to arrive Saturday at the port of Granadilla de Abona on the Canary Island of Tenerife. EFE
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