Countries across the world intensified efforts on Thursday to prevent the further spread of hantavirus after an outbreak linked to the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius, with health authorities tracing passengers who disembarked before the virus was detected and monitoring those who had close contact with them.
Three people, a Dutch couple and a German national have died due to the outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) said five infections have been confirmed, while another three remain suspected cases.
Although hantavirus is typically transmitted through exposure to infected rodents, the Andean strain identified in several of the patients can, in rare instances, spread from person to person.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the MV Hondius, said all passengers who disembarked during the vessel’s stop at St. Helena in the South Atlantic on April 24 had been contacted. Those passengers came from at least 12 countries, including seven British citizens and six Americans. The first confirmed case linked to the outbreak was identified in early May.
WHO: “This is not COVID”
The WHO stressed that the overall risk to the public remains low despite the rare possibility of human-to-human transmission associated with the Andean strain.
“This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s director for epidemic and pandemic management, told a news conference. “This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”
The agency said it is preparing guidance for the dozens of passengers still aboard the vessel, which is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands over the weekend. None of the remaining passengers is currently showing symptoms, according to the WHO.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is closely monitoring the situation and described the current risk to the American public as extremely low. The agency has classified the incident as a Level 3 emergency response.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had been briefed on the outbreak and expressed confidence that authorities were managing the situation.
“It’s very much, we hope, under control,” Trump told reporters, adding that he expected a report on the virus on Friday.
State health agencies across the United States have begun monitoring returning travelers. Georgia officials said they are observing two asymptomatic residents who had been aboard the ship, while Arizona health authorities are monitoring one resident who is also not showing symptoms. Texas officials said two state residents returned from the cruise before the outbreak was identified.
International health authorities have launched similar measures. Singapore has isolated and is testing two residents who were on the vessel, while France reported that one citizen who had close contact with an infected person is being monitored despite showing no symptoms.
Canada said two passengers returned home before the outbreak was identified and another Canadian traveled on the same flight as a symptomatic passenger. All three are currently asymptomatic. Denmark has advised one returning passenger to self-isolate as a precaution.
Contact Tracing and Medical Evacuations
Oceanwide Expeditions said it is working to establish the details of all passengers and crew members who embarked or disembarked during the voyage, which began on March 20.
The Dutch couple who later died are believed to have boarded the ship on April 1 and are considered the earliest known cases linked to the outbreak.
Dutch airline KLM said one of the victims, a Dutch woman, was removed from a flight in Johannesburg on April 25 after her condition deteriorated. She died before reaching the Netherlands.
Dutch broadcaster RTL reported that a KLM flight attendant who had contact with the woman has since been hospitalized in Amsterdam after developing possible hantavirus symptoms. Dutch authorities told public broadcaster NOS that crew members and passengers who assisted her are receiving daily health checks.
Three patients were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday. Two were admitted to hospitals in the Netherlands, while a third was transferred to Germany for treatment.
One of those evacuated, expedition guide Martin Anstee, told Sky News from a Dutch hospital that he was “doing OK” but said “there are still lots of tests to be done.”
The Düsseldorf University Clinic, which is treating the patient transferred to Germany, said she has not been confirmed to have hantavirus and is undergoing further testing.
Swiss health officials also confirmed that a man who traveled on the cruise ship tested positive for the infection after being admitted to a hospital in Switzerland.
Health authorities in multiple countries continue to conduct contact tracing and monitor returning passengers as they seek to prevent any further spread of the virus.
