New rat virus cruise ship warning as specialists declare ‘intimate companions’ may very well be in danger
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a fresh warning over the deadly Hantavirus outbreak – and it’s not just coughs and sneezes that could put people at risk.
In its latest update on the MV Hondius cruise ship crisis, the WHO says “intimate partners” are among those classed as high-risk contacts.
In a statement, WHO revealed that “outside the context of the ship, high-risk contacts may include intimate partners, household members and persons with prolonged close indoor exposure, healthcare workers with unprotected exposure”.
The organisation’s statement also revealed that “individuals handling contaminated materials or body fluids without appropriate personal protective equipment”, also pose a risk of being contaminated.
All confirmed cases of the suspected Andes strain of the virus (ANDV) were found in passengers on the ship, the WHO reassured.
Its new statement further reads: “As of 13 May, a total of 11 cases, including three deaths, have been reported (case fatality ratio 27%). Eight cases were laboratory-confirmed for Andes virus (ANDV) infection, two are probable, and one case remains inconclusive and undergoing further testing.” It added: “WHO has assessed the risk posed by this event to the global population as low and will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation and update the risk assessment as needed.”
The WHO said it was previously alerted by the UK on May 2 after the cluster of severe respiratory illness on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship, including two deaths and a critically ill passenger. So far, no British nationals were reported to have died from Andes virus.
However, three brits were among those infected.
Some required emergency treatment, including an airlift to an ICU in South Africa and a British Army medical team sent to Tristan da Cunha, while others returned to the UK for monitoring after developing hantavirus symptoms.
Investigators believe the outbreak began when Dutch birdwatching couple, Leo Schilperoord, 70, and Mirjam Schilperoord, were infected on land in Argentina before boarding the MV Hondius, and it then spread through close contact on the ship.
The WHO said the MV Hondius reached Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday (May 10), where passengers and most crew began disembarking before being flown home on specially arranged non-commercial flights.
The ship then left the following day for the Netherlands with 25 crew still on board, monitored by two Dutch health workers.
International teams continue tracking down and checking anyone who may have been exposed, the WHO said.
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