Passengers who were on the Hondius ship, which recorded 11 cases of hantavirus, were repatriated. Now, it is up to each country to determine what the protocol should be to deal with the outbreak.
Of the 11 cases, nine are confirmed and two are likely linked to . “At this time, there is no indication that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak. But, of course, the situation could change. And, given the long incubation period of the virus, it is possible that we will see more cases in the coming weeks,” said the director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press conference. No new deaths have been reported since May 2.
147 passengers from the ship are expected to disembark, in a carefully planned and divided into groups, involving countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. “They are prepared to receive these patients and have already had the last week to develop specific protocols on how to care for these people and how to prevent the spread of the disease”, assesses infectious disease specialist Lilian Ávilla.
She also emphasizes that, for person-to-person transmission to occur, there must be prolonged and close contact. Infection, therefore, becomes more difficult to occur when patients are transferred to specialized health services in different countries.
“So, even if there are small differences between one protocol and another depending on the country, there is still no expectation that this poses a risk or a greater chance of the virus spreading”, he adds. “Each country will develop its own mechanisms and ways of dealing with the situation, depending on the number of patients they receive and the follow-up that is carried out.”
The United Kingdom, for example, placed British citizens in isolation for 45 days in different facilities equipped with bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms. The CDC (Center for Disease Prevention) in the United States has been criticized for the delay in issuing guidance in the face of confirmed cases.
Eighteen Americans were on board the ship and they were taken to two different treatment centers. Two of them were exposed to the virus, disembarked before the ship and returned to their home state.
Security measures
It usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue and fever, one to eight weeks after exposure, according to the CDC. Four to ten days later, coughing, shortness of breath and fluid accumulation in the lungs appear. Diagnosis within the first 72 hours of infection is difficult, so symptoms can easily be confused with those of a common flu.
The WHO said it continues to consider the risk of the situation evolving into a global one to be low, but it is important to continue with prevention measures.
“It is a situation that is evolving and there will be updates over the next few weeks, which will be provided by both the World Health Organization and the countries involved. But even so, the expectation is that it will not evolve into something more serious”, adds Lilian.
Hantavirus can cause a series of serious symptoms depending on the infection caused in patients.
- keep closed places, stores and food safe from rats;
- avoid accumulating trash and debris;
- ventilate closed environments before cleaning;
- do not sweep areas with signs of rodents, to avoid raising contaminated particles;
- clean with bleach or suitable disinfectant;
- use masks and gloves in risky places, especially in rural areas.
