The WHO has announced that the spread of hantavirus linked to cruises has ended | Articles of the World Health Organization

The WHO has announced that the spread of hantavirus associated with cruises will end if the person exposed to it eventually completes self-isolation and tests negative.

The World Health Organization has announced that the hantavirus outbreak has ended after the last contact of a person who was connected to a cruise ship after completing self-isolation was found to be negative.

The outbreak, which affected 13 people and killed three, also involved a rare type of Andean hantavirus that is endemic in Argentina and Chile. The cruise ship Hondius left Argentina on April 1.

“Today, the last contact of a person with HIV on the MV Hondius cruise ship completed their quarantine period, tested positive and returned home,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday. “No new cases have been reported since May 25. Therefore, the WHO considers the hantavirus epidemic to be over,” he added.

In April, a Dutch-flagged ship sailed from Ushuaia, Argentina, to remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, including Tristan da Cunha, before heading north to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, where the remaining survivors were flown home.

The ship docked in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on May 18.

After cleaning and disinfection, the ship was scheduled to resume operation on May 30.

Tedros said more than 650 people had been identified and followed up by health officials in 33 countries and territories.

He said WHO will continue to work to understand the outbreak and the virus that causes it.

“We are also coordinating research involving 21 countries to understand how the disease spreads, which will help in the development of diagnostics, treatment and vaccines for future epidemics,” said Tedros.

Hantavirus is spread mainly through rodents, infecting humans through contact with rodents, mice or their urine, droppings and saliva. The virus can become airborne during cleaning of infected areas.

The Andes virus is the only virus known to be transmitted through prolonged human-to-human contact.

Patients usually develop fever, headache, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, between one and eight weeks after exposure.

In severe cases, the disease can cause coughing, shortness of breath and fluid build-up in the lungs. There is no approved vaccine or antiviral drug for the disease, and care remains supportive.