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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Health & Science

WHO rules out onboard infection in ship hantavirus case

From The Punch · (7m ago) English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the first hantavirus case on the MV Hondius cruise ship likely occurred before boarding.
  • The ship experienced an outbreak of severe acute respiratory illness, resulting in three deaths, including a Dutch passenger confirmed positive for hantavirus.
  • Hantavirus, typically spread by rodents, has a one-to-six-week incubation period, making onboard infection unlikely for the initial case.

An outbreak of a rare and deadly hantavirus on the polar expedition ship MV Hondius has raised international concern, with the World Health Organization (WHO) providing crucial insights into the timeline of infections. The ship, which traveled from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Cape Verde, reported severe acute respiratory illness among passengers and crew, leading to three fatalities.

The incubation period — the time between infection and the onset of symptoms — is between one and six weeks”, but it is typically “more like two to three weeks”.

— Anais LegandExplaining the typical incubation period of hantavirus.

The WHO expert, Anais Legand, has indicated that the first confirmed hantavirus case, a 70-year-old Dutch passenger, likely contracted the virus before embarking on the cruise. "The incubation period—the time between infection and the onset of symptoms—is between one and six weeks", Legand explained, "So the first case 'could not have been infected on the ship, or on one of the islands' it called at on the way towards Cape Verde." This suggests the exposure was "certainly linked to a rodent" prior to boarding.

While the Dutch man's wife and a German national are among the deceased, only the Dutch man has been confirmed positive for hantavirus so far. Other passengers and crew members have tested positive or are suspected cases, with some being treated in hospitals in Johannesburg and Zurich, and others evacuated to the Netherlands. The ship itself, after being anchored off Cape Verde, has now set sail for the Canary Islands.

So the first case “could not have been infected on the ship, or on one of the islands” it called at on the way towards Cape Verde.

— Anais LegandStating the WHO's conclusion about the timing of the first infection.

Hantavirus is primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their excreta. Although human-to-human transmission is documented for only one strain (Andes virus), the typical mode of spread underscores the importance of environmental factors in outbreaks. The WHO's clarification is vital for understanding the epidemiological patterns of this disease and preventing future occurrences, particularly in travel-related contexts.

The man “very clearly had exposure before boarding the ship”, an exposure “certainly linked to a rodent”, she said.

— Anais LegandElaborating on the likely source and timing of the initial hantavirus exposure.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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