Two passengers of a cruise ship stranded near Cape Verde have been confirmed to have a strain of hantavirus that is transmitted between people. This was announced by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of South Africa (JAR), where they were taken. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- The Andes hantavirus strain was confirmed in two cruise ship passengers.
- Andes virus is the only hantavirus with proven transmission between humans.
- Seven cases of infection and three deaths are registered on the ship MV Hondius.
- A cruise ship heads to the Canary Islands, a regional leader rewards the plan.
- Hantavirus causes fever and severe respiratory disease, primarily transmitted by rodents.
From the results of preliminary tests, a strain of the Andes virus was detected in a Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg and a Briton still in hospital. It is the only known hantavirus in which human-to-human transmission has been demonstrated, said South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi in a parliamentary committee.
He reiterated that such transmission occurs only rarely and as a result of very close contact between people. The Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius with approximately 150 passengers and crew members set sail from southern Argentina and is currently anchored near the Cape Verde Islands.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far recorded seven cases of infection and three deaths on the ship – an elderly Dutch couple and a German citizen. According to Wednesday’s AFP report, one passenger with hantavirus was hospitalized in Zurich, Switzerland.
In the next three to four days, the cruise ship should arrive in the Canary Islands, where the Spanish government has allowed it to dock. However, the head of the regional government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, opposed this plan and demanded a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Reuters reported.
Hantavirus can cause fever and severe respiratory illness. The infection is most often transmitted by inhaling contaminated dust, exceptionally also by biting. According to the WHO, the occurrence of an infection on a ship is unusual. Humans can become infected with hantavirus through contact with rodents such as rats and mice, especially their urine, droppings and saliva. It can also be spread by their bites or scratches, but this is rare. The ship’s operator denied the claim that there were rats on board.
