WHO: The risk of hantavirus spreading to the global population is extremely low

The outbreak occurred aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, where three passengers lost their lives.

The risk of hantavirus spreading to the global population is “extremely low,” the World Health Organization (WHO) reassured today, following an outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius that resulted in the deaths of three passengers.

“This is a dangerous virus, but only for the person who is actually infected. The risk for the general population remains extremely low,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told journalists in Geneva.

He stressed that even among people sharing cabins with an infected individual aboard the MV Hondius, “it appears that in some cases, neither of the two became infected.”

“It’s not something like measles, for example: if you are here in the press room and someone in front coughs, the first rows would be at risk. Close contact practically means nose-to-nose (…) This is not a new COVID,” he underlined.

The cruise ship Hondius, owned by the Dutch cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions, departed from Ushuaia on April 1 and is currently en route to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where it is expected to arrive on Sunday.

Three passengers aboard the ship have died, while the latest WHO figures published on Thursday reported a total of five confirmed cases and three suspected cases.