Hantavirus Outbreak Live Updates: 7 Confirmed Cases as Per WHO, Will It Be the Next COVID-Like Pandemic?

Here is the day by day report of Hantavirus.

Argentine authorities suspect the epidemic of hantavirus may have started on a bird-watching trip with the Dutch couple who died. A report from the Associated Press said the pair visited a garbage site where they could have come into touch with rats infected with the illness before embarking on the cruise liner.

At the moment, global health experts  are saying that Covid-style pandemic remains low.

The WHO stated the hantavirus outbreak does not resemble the early stages of Covid-19 because:

• It spreads less efficiently
• Transmission usually requires close and prolonged contact

The CDC and European health agencies also indicated that broader public risk is limited as of now

There are now seven confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Reports say at least three deaths have also been recorded so far.

Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that in the “most extreme case of incubation” of hantavirus people may have to isolate for “up to eight weeks”. However, the general consensus is people need to isolate for “probably six weeks, and so that’s the period of isolation, 45 days that we’re likely to be recommending”. 

The deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship has now spread across parts of Europe, with cases monitored in Switzerland, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The virus involved is the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare variant capable of limited person-to-person transmission. WHO said the strain was identified by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland.

A KLM flight attendant has been hospitalized in Amsterdam with symptoms of a hantavirus infection, according to the Dutch Health Ministry. The woman, a Dutch national, reportedly had contact with a woman who died from a viral infection in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dutch broadcaster RTL reported. She is said to have symptoms and is currently being tested in isolation. A video circulating online shows a suspected hantavirus patient being transported from Schiphol Airport. 

WHO Chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media-

“I am hosting a media briefing on #hantavirus today at 15:00h CEST. You can join and watch via World Health Organisation (WHO) and my social media channels across X, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.”

It has now emerged that a man tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland after he also disembarked at St Helena and flew home, though his exact movements remain unclear. Dutch authorities have not said where the other passengers who disembarked are currently located.

Argentina’s health officials are conducting rodent trapping in Ushuaia, the voyage’s origin point. With containment efforts prioritised, Spain is preparing to quarantine passengers as the ship approaches its shores, in alignment with global health advisories and coordinated efforts.

Two people who returned to the UK from the cruise ship have been told to self-isolate, the UK Health Security Agency said. It is now believed that a Dutch couple who visited a landfill during a bird-watching tour in Argentina may be the source of the outbreak.

“The Department of State is leading a coordinated, whole-of-government response including direct contact with passengers, diplomatic coordination and engagement with domestic and international health authorities,” the CDC said in a statement.

“The risk to the American public is extremely low at this time,” the CDC added.

Due to the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship, three people including a Dutch couple and a German national have lost their lives on the MV Hondius. Eight people including a Swiss citizen, are suspected to have contracted the virus, according to the World Health Organisation.

Two people are in serious condition after being evacuated from the ship, and it has been confirmed that they are affected by hantavirus. They are currently receiving treatment in the Netherlands.