The World Health Organization is downplaying fears of a wider hantavirus outbreak after three people died and several others fell ill aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise liner Hondius, currently moored in Cabo Verde.
“This is not COVID,” a WHO spokesperson told journalists in Geneva. “The risk to the general population remains absolutely low.”
Eight cases have been linked to the rare Andes strain. The first patient developed symptoms on April 6 and died aboard the ship. His wife also died after being evacuated to South Africa, where lab tests confirmed the infection. A third passenger died on May 2.
Transmission requires close, prolonged contact. “Even those sharing cabins don’t seem to be both infected,” said WHO’s Christian Lindmeier. The wife of a man being treated in a Swiss hospital has shown no symptoms.
Prior to boarding, the first couple traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay on a birdwatching trip-areas where the rodent species carrying the virus is present.
Hantaviruses are zoonotic, spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings. The Andes strain is the only one capable of limited human-to-human transmission.
WHO is coordinating with authorities in Cabo Verde, Spain, the Netherlands, South Africa, the UK, and Argentina, as well as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. No passengers or crew currently on board are showing symptoms.