WHO Confirms Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship — Three Dead, One Critical
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The World Health Organization has raised global concern after confirming a hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, with seven people infected, three deaths, and one person in critical condition. The ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, in early April, and cases have since spread beyond the vessel. A 69-year-old Dutch woman who disembarked at Saint Helena on April 24 died after flying to Johannesburg, prompting the WHO to begin tracing more than 80 passengers and six crew members who shared the same regional flight. Three other passengers are currently showing mild symptoms, and health authorities are monitoring all contacts closely.Hantavirus is a serious viral disease transmitted through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents, and it carries a fatality rate that can reach up to 50% in the Americas.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment available. What makes the WHO's response especially significant is that the organization has not ruled out the possibility of person-to-person transmission among those in close contact aboard the ship — a rare characteristic for hantavirus, which typically does not spread between humans. While the WHO currently assesses the overall global risk as low and considers the outbreak contained to the cruise ship environment, health authorities are treating the situation with caution given the uncertainty around transmission dynamics and the international movement of passengers involved.
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WHO said global risk is low and also we're actively tracing 80 people across several countries, the confidence interval is wide