Hantavirus cases have climbed to 11, including three deaths, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today.During a media briefing on hantavirus, Tedros stated that all eleven cases are among passengers or crew members onboard the MV Hondius.
"Nine of the eleven have been confirmed as Andes virus, and the other two are probable," he added.
All suspected and confirmed cases have been isolated and managed under strict medical supervision, minimizing any risk of further transmission.
Tedros said individual countries were now responsible for their citizens after the evacuation, adding: "I hope they will take care of the patients and the passengers, helping them and also protecting their citizens as well. That's what we expect."
Will Hantavirus Become A Public Health Threat?
Noting that "at the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak," Tedros said the situation could still change.
"Given the long incubation period of the virus, it's possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks," he said.
Acclaimed vaccine scientist Prof. Peter Hotez from the Texas Medical Center (TMC) also said more cases could emerge, but ruled out the risk of a major epidemic.
"We might see additional cases, but I don't think this will be a major epidemic beyond the obvious human tragedy of those who lost their lives, and possibly a few others who could still get very sick," he said in a post on social media platform X.
"New World hantavirus infections are rough stuff. Once symptoms begin, the resulting cytokine storm and ARDS means there's not much of a window before getting patients into an ICU, and often on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which requires a high level of skill," Prof. Peter said.
He also linked increasing zoonotic spillovers and rising arthropod-borne illnesses to "climate change pushing animal reservoirs to explore new habitats, together with deforestation and urbanization."
"It's animals and vectors closer to humans and people coming closer to animals and vectors," he added.
"I don't think this particular hantavirus outbreak will accelerate much beyond where it is now, but that's not the point."
Dutch Hospital Quarantines 12 Healthcare Workers
Meanwhile, Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in the Netherlands has placed 12 employees in quarantine for six weeks as a precaution after incorrect procedures were followed while caring for a hantavirus-infected patient from the Dutch cruise ship.
The hospital said on Monday that the issue involved procedures for drawing and processing blood samples, as well as the disposal of the patient's urine, according to Xinhua news agency.
"This blood was processed according to standard procedure. Due to the nature of the virus, this blood should have been processed according to a stricter procedure," Radboudumc said in a statement, without specifying what the stricter measures should have entailed.
Read More: Donald Trump Says Hantavirus Is 'Under Control'; Questions Grow Over CDC Research Cuts
WHO Guidelines On Hantavirus
The WHO recommends that people exposed to hantavirus should be:
- Monitored actively at a specified quarantine facility
- Monitored at home for 42 days from the last exposure
Anyone who becomes symptomatic should be isolated and treated immediately.
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