WHO: Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship not a cause for major epidemic fears

The World Health Organization has moved to quell fears surrounding a hantavirus outbreak detected on a cruise ship, assuring the public that it is not a cause for widespread alarm. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, acting head of epidemic and pandemic prevention and preparedness at the WHO, emphasized that this is not a repeat of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the distinct nature of hantavirus. Unlike the respiratory transmission of SARS-CoV-2, hantavirus spreads through close, intimate contact, making it less likely to cause a global outbreak.

“

This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus, it has been around for a while, we know it. So I want to be clear, this is not the start of a pandemic like COVID. This is an outbreak on a ship, in a confined area with five confirmed cases so far.

The WHO drew parallels to a 2018-2019 outbreak in Argentina, which resulted in 34 infections but was successfully managed. This historical context provides a degree of reassurance, suggesting that with appropriate public health interventions, such as contact tracing and isolation, the current cluster can be contained. The organization's clear communication aims to prevent unnecessary panic and to underscore the differences in viral behavior and transmission modes between hantavirus and the virus that caused the recent pandemic.

“

Hantavirus is transmitted very differently from the coronavirus that caused the pandemic six years ago, through close and intimate contact, while the cause of COVID-19 was spread through the respiratory route.