Health authorities are investigating a hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship after laboratory testing identified the Andes virus (ANDV), a strain of hantavirus. Multiple outlets report that the outbreak is confined to the ship’s passengers and crew, who are being monitored or quarantined while further testing and epidemiological inquiries continue. The World Health Organization says eight cases are laboratory-confirmed for Andes virus infection, with additional cases classified as probable and inconclusive pending further results. NBC News and Live Science describe Andes virus as the hantavirus strain known to spread between humans, and other reporting explains that this virus is typically associated with South America and causes severe illness in some infected people. Several sources state that three people have died in connection with the outbreak and that additional passengers have been sickened. The Conversation and other expert commentary note that Andes virus is not highly transmissible between humans and that the risk to the general public is considered low, with concern focused on controlling exposure among those on the vessel and monitoring for new cases during the incubation period.
Andes hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius: WHO confirms multiple confirmed cases and deaths
Health authorities are investigating a hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship after laboratory testing identified the Andes virus (ANDV), a strain of hantavirus. Multiple outlets rep...
- The outbreak is linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.
- Laboratory testing identifies the Andes virus (ANDV) as the cause.
- WHO reports eight laboratory-confirmed Andes virus cases, with additional probable and inconclusive results.
- Three deaths have been reported among people connected to the cruise ship outbreak.
- Experts and reports describe Andes virus as capable of human-to-human transmission but not highly transmissible, with low general public risk.
Canadian public health officials said a "high risk" passenger who was aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius tested "presumptive positive" for the Andes hantavirus.
3 months agoCanadian public health officials said a "high risk" passenger who was on board the cruise ship MV Hondius has tested "presumptive positive" for the Andes hantavirus.
3 months agoHealth officials have said the Andes virus implicated in the cruise ship outbreak spreads via "close contact." Live Science spoke to experts about what that means.
3 months agoAs passengers from the MV Hondius quarantine, health experts do not believe the virus will cause a pandemic
3 months agoA hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius has seen eight passengers test positive for the Andes virus, a strain known to spread between humans. Three lives have been lost so far. While the risk to the general public is low, passengers and crew are under quarantine for 42 days as investigations continue.
3 months agoGeneva, Eight people infected in the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for the Andes virus, the only strain transmitted between humans, the World Health Organization said Wednesday."Eight cases were laboratory-confirmed for Andes virus (ANDV) infection, two are probable, and one case remains inconclusive and undergoing further testing," the UN health agency said in its latest update on the outbreak.Three people from the ship have died since it set sail from Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean.Two of the victims had confirmed Andes virus infections, and the third is listed as a "probable" case, according to the WHO.Hantavirus typically spreads from the urine, faeces and saliva of infected rodents.There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the rare disease.All known cases in the current outbreak were people aboard the cruise ship.The case listed as inconclusive is an American passenger repatriated to the United States, who is "currently asymptomatic" and undergoing further testing after one positive and one negative result, the WHO said.It maintained its assessment of the public-health risk from the outbreak at "moderate" for those who were on the ship and "low" for the rest of the world.The origin of the outbreak is still unknown.The WHO says the original infection happened before the cruise, because the first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch man, started showing symptoms on April 6, while the virus' incubation period is one to six weeks.
3 months ago
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