WHO on Hantavirus Outbreak: 'This Is Not COVID'
WHO says the cruise ship outbreak remains limited, with eight cases and three deaths reported, and warns more infections may appear during the incubation period.
- On Thursday, the World Health Organization confirmed a hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, with more than 100 passengers confined as the vessel heads toward the Canary Islands.
- Health officials identified the strain as the Andes virus, noting person-to-person transmission occurred due to close contact; this cluster mirrors an Argentina outbreak in 2018-2019 that resulted in 34 cases.
- WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that more cases may emerge given the six-week incubation period, while Maria Van Kerkhove stated, "This is not the start of a COVID pandemic."
- Officials confirmed passengers from 12 countries disembarked before detection, prompting health departments in California, Georgia, and Arizona to monitor returnees; a flight attendant was hospitalized in Amsterdam.
- Abdirahman Mahamud, WHO director for alert and response operations, stated, "We firmly believe that safe, informed contact tracing and monitoring will reduce further spread," with additional guidance expected within 24 hours.
105 Articles
105 Articles
Why experts say the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak is not another Covid
The World Health Organization has warned that more hantavirus cases could emerge after an outbreak linked to a cruise ship killed three passengers, though officials say the situation is likely to remain contained if health measures are followed.
The World Health Organization stated on Thursday that more cases of hantavirus could arise after the disease caused the death of three passengers on a cruise, but that it hoped that the outbreak would be limited if precautions were taken. Another patient passenger from the MV Hondius arrived in Europe early in the day, when the ship was headed to the Spanish Canary Islands and the health authorities were quick to trace the outbreak of the potent…
El Periódico
The Ministry of Health of Argentina has accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of "using" the outbreak of hantavirus on the luxury cruiser 'MV Hondius', which left the Argentine port of Ushuaia for Cape Verde and final destination Canary Islands, to "condition a sovereign decision" of his country, whose government announced its departure from that same agency in March 2026, following the steps of the United States that it did at the beginni…
Africa: Hantavirus Outbreak On Cruise Ship Not 'Another Covid', WHO Says
A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean poses a low global public health risk and is "not the start of another COVID pandemic", the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
More hantavirus cases could emerge, but outbreak limited with precautions taken, says WHO
The World Health Organisation said that more hantavirus cases could emerge after the disease killed three passengers from a cruise ship, but it expected the outbreak to be limited if precautions were taken.
What you should know about Hantavirus
Reports of a deadly Hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship travelling across the Atlantic have sparked concern online, with some social media users already comparing the situation to the early days of COVID-19. But public health experts insist that while the virus warrants attention, there is currently no evidence of a looming global health emergency or any immediate threat to Nigeria. The concern followed reports involving the expedition crui…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 44% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
