WHO: low hantavirus risk
Public health editor
Timestamp shown in UTC unless otherwise indicated.
WHO says a hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius is low risk. It is "not the start of a pandemic," the organization states. Eight cases include five confirmed and three suspected.
Three deaths have been reported. One question remains. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the Andes virus is involved.
This hantavirus strain can pass between people through close contact, but it's rare. “This is serious, but the risk is low,” Tedros said in Geneva. WHO works with several governments and health agencies.
They aim to stop further spread and treat affected passengers. The outbreak is nothing like the early COVID-19 pandemic. Hantaviruses spread very differently.
They primarily move from infected rodents, not people.