WHO Confirms Hantavirus Cases On Cruise Ship, Rules Out Pandemic Risk

The World Health Organization has confirmed five hantavirus cases linked to an outbreak aboard a cruise ship, while dismissing fears that the situation could develop into a Covid-style global pandemic.

WHO officials said the virus is well known and very different from Covid-19, stressing that there is no indication the outbreak poses a pandemic threat.

“I want to be unequivocal here… this is not the start of a COVID pandemic,” a WHO official said during an update on the outbreak.

The five confirmed cases were recorded among passengers linked to the MV Hondius, which departed from Argentina about a month ago. Three people have died either on board the vessel or after travelling on it.

The ship is currently heading to the Canary Islands, where it is expected to dock over the weekend.

Health authorities have launched contact tracing operations in several countries after some passengers left the ship before the outbreak was detected. Countries involved include the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

The WHO warned that more infections could still emerge because hantavirus has an incubation period of up to six weeks.

Officials also noted that person-to-person transmission of this strain of hantavirus is rare, while the source of the outbreak remains under investigation.

Hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents or exposure to their urine, saliva or droppings, and can lead to severe respiratory illness in humans.