World Health Organisation Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that hantavirus will continue to spread, although there have been no signs of a global outbreak following the MV Hondius cruise ship infection.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) chief has conceded that the hantavirus will continue to spread, despite no evidence of a widespread public outbreak of the rat-borne disease so far.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, pointed to the ‘long incubation period’ as the reason why health officials anticipate a rise in hantavirus infection rates. Although the WHO head stated there is no sign of a mass public outbreak, two individuals who were not passengers on the virus-hit ship, the MV Hondius, have been hospitalised amid fears they have contracted the rat virus.
In recent weeks, an international emergency response was triggered by global health authorities following confirmation of a hantavirus outbreak on board the Dutch-flagged cruise ship. To date, 11 cruise passengers have been infected with the disease, resulting in three fatalities.
Speaking at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday (May 12), Dr Tedros informed reporters: “At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak, but of course the situation could change and, given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.”
He further noted that due to the high level of interaction among passengers on the MV Hondius, coupled with the virus’s lengthy incubation period, more cases are likely to emerge in the forthcoming weeks, reports the Mirror.
“We would expect more cases because, as you may remember, the index case – the first case in the ship – was on April 6 … [and] there was a lot of interaction, actually, with the passengers. And as you know, the incubation period is also six to eight weeks,” he said.
“So because of the interaction while they were still in the ship – especially before they started taking some infectious prevention measures – we would expect more cases.”
Dr Tedros went on to say that, with travellers now mostly returned to their home nations, their respective countries now hold responsibility for handling the associated health concerns and relevant hantavirus threats. “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,” he said.
Remarks from the WHO chief on Tuesday emerge as 10 Britons connected to the MV Hondius outbreak head towards the UK. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the fresh group – believed to be inhabitants of the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension Island – are now being ‘brought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure’.
The latest 10 will touch down just as those quarantining at Merseyside’s former Covid isolation facility Arrowe Park – 20 Britons, a German-UK resident, and a Japanese passenger – get ready to leave the Wirral site having finished an initial three-day evaluation period. They will continue to self-isolate for an additional 42 days, with many anticipated to do so at home under the daily supervision of health protection teams.
It remains unconfirmed whether the new arrivals will be transported to Arrowe Park.
Hospitals in France and Italy are currently conducting tests on two individuals suspected of contracting the virus, despite not being passengers on the infected ship.
A 25 year old Italian man has been quarantined after he boarded a Dutch KLM flight and sat next to cruise passenger Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, the wife of the first confirmed case. She later became the ship’s second hantavirus fatality, passing away 14 days after her husband fell victim to the virus while they were still aboard the MV Hondius.
In Brittany, France, another individual is suspected of having the hantavirus. Test results are now awaited as authorities attempt to confirm if either or both have contracted the rat-borne infection.
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