WHO Declares End of Cruise Ship-Linked Hantavirus Outbreak

Geneva (ANTARA) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday officially declared the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius over, following the completion of the quarantine period for the last contact and no new cases being reported for more than five weeks. “Today, the last contact of a person exposed to hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius has completed their quarantine, tested negative, and returned home. No new cases have been reported since 25 May. Therefore, we are pleased to declare that WHO considers this hantavirus outbreak to be over,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his opening remarks at a media briefing on Thursday. The WHO was notified of the outbreak on 2 May by the United Kingdom’s International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point. The outbreak involved a cluster of severe acute respiratory illnesses aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship. A total of 13 cases were recorded, including three deaths. More than 650 contacts were identified and followed up by health authorities. The response to the outbreak was supported by various countries in accordance with the IHR, including Argentina, Cabo Verde, Chile, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and especially Spain, which showed “extraordinary solidarity in supporting the process of disembarking passengers from the ship and the safe repatriation of passengers and crew in Tenerife,” the WHO director-general said. Although the outbreak is now over, the WHO will continue to work with governments and partners to improve understanding of this outbreak and hantaviruses in general. The WHO is coordinating a study involving 21 countries to understand how the disease develops, which will support the development of diagnostic tools, therapies, and vaccines to tackle future outbreaks.