Johannesburg: The World Health Organization hypothesizes that the Hantavirus may have spread between humans on cruise ships. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday that a cluster of hantavirus infections on the Atlantic cruise ship Hundius, which has 147 passengers and crew, may have been infected before departure, making the possibility of human-to-human transmission on board impossible to rule out.
According to Thai News Agency, the WHO received a report of a Hantavirus outbreak on the Handius cruise ship on May 2, indicating seven cases of illness and three deaths. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO's epidemic preparedness and prevention department, stated that the situation remains volatile and requires close monitoring.
Van Kerkhove said that one patient is being treated in the ICU in South Africa and his condition is improving. Two other patients who remain on the ship are awaiting medical evacuation for treatment in the Netherlands. The remaining passengers on board have been ordered to remain in their cabins during disinfection and other public health measures.
Regarding the origin of the virus, Van Kerkhove stated that the first group of patients, a married couple, boarded a ship in Argentina. The incubation period for the Hantavirus is 1-6 weeks, and it can occur anywhere. The current hypothesis is that they may not have been infected on the ship, and it is believed that transmission may have occurred between humans through very close contact, such as between married couples and people sharing a room.
According to the organization, human-to-human transmission of the Hantavirus is rare, but limited transmission through close contact has been reported in outbreaks of the Andes virus, a part of the Hantavirus family. Hantavirus is carried by rodents and can cause serious illness in humans for which there is no specific treatment, only symptomatic care.
The USS Handius is scheduled to continue its journey to the Canary Islands of Spain, and the organization is coordinating with Spanish authorities to conduct an epidemiological investigation and a full disinfection of the entire ship.