The head of WHO announced the detection of hantavirus in 11 passengers of the MV Hondius liner

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 11 passengers of the MV Hondius with hantavirus, nine of whom have been confirmed as Andes virus. This was announced on May 12 by the head of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"At the moment, 11 cases of the disease have been registered, including three deaths. All cases have been identified among passengers or crew members of the vessel," he said at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, which was broadcast on the organization's page on the social network X (former. Twitter).

Ghebreyesus noted that all suspected and confirmed cases are under strict medical supervision and isolation. According to him, this minimizes the risk of further spread of the disease.

Attacked from the ship: it will take 1.5 years to create a vaccine against hantavirus

Could an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in the Atlantic turn into a pandemic

On the same day, Ghebreyesus said that the WHO has not yet recorded signs of a major outbreak of hantavirus. The head of the organization noted that the situation may change. He explained that due to the long incubation period of the virus, an increase in the number of detected cases of infection is possible in the coming weeks.

American doctor and scientist Stephen Quay said that May 19 could be a crucial date in determining the spread of hantavirus beyond the cruise ship MV Hondius. According to the expert, it took an average of 22 days for all second-generation cases.

The MV Hondius liner, where an outbreak of hantavirus was recorded at the beginning of the month, arrived at the shores of the Spanish island on May 10 to evacuate. It was reported that at least three deaths of passengers from the Andes strain were detected on the ship.