Hanta virus detected in passengers on MV Hondius ship that left Argentina, three passengers on board die, one of them infected
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The international community is concerned after a rare but deadly Hantavirus infection broke out on a cruise ship owned by a Dutch company. Authorities are closely monitoring and testing passengers, considering the risk that those on board could spread the virus.
The MV Hondius, which left Argentina, is heading to the Canary Islands in Spain. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), eight cases of Hantavirus have been found on the ship so far. Three passengers on the ship have died. One of them has been confirmed infected. The ship is currently carrying more than 140 passengers from 23 countries around the world.
A person died on the ship on April 11. The body of the Dutch citizen was landed on the island of St. Helena on April 24. His wife also disembarked on the same island. The next day, she went to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, for treatment. He died on April 26. More than two dozen passengers from 12 countries disembarked from the ship on the island of St. Helena that day, Dutch officials said. The passengers disembarked without contact tracing, raising fears that the virus could spread when they return home.
Testing was tightened as passengers on the ship fell ill. On May 2, a lab test in South Africa confirmed that one patient had the hantavirus. He is seriously ill and is in the ICU. Another person died on the ship on May 3. On Wednesday, three people, including the ship's doctor, were rescued and taken to a specialized hospital in Europe for treatment. The ship was near the West African island nation of Cape Verde when they were rescued.
World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged people not to panic, as the rate of human-to-human transmission of hantavirus is very low. WHO officials have said that the risk of it spreading globally like the COVID-19 virus is very low. However, health officials have tightened surveillance and vigilance on the ship. Work is also underway to identify people from at least four continents who have come into contact with people on the ship.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Health, a woman who did not board the ship has also shown symptoms of hantavirus. The woman is now in isolation. According to Dutch officials, the woman is a flight attendant and came into contact with an infected passenger on the plane. If the woman is confirmed to have hantavirus, she will be the first person to be infected with hantavirus not on the MV Hondius.
What is hantavirus?
Hantavirus is transmitted from rats to humans. The virus is transmitted by contact with fluids such as rat urine, sweat, mucus, and saliva. Sometimes, it can also be transmitted through the air when cleaning where rats live. Of the identified hantavirus variants, the Andes strain is the only one that can be transmitted from person to person. This variant has been spreading from time to time in Chile and Argentina. The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that this variant had spread on a cruise ship.
Different variants of hanta virus have different symptoms. Symptoms can appear within one to eight weeks of coming into contact with an infected person. The WHO said that fever, arm pain, and gastric problems are seen. The hanta virus variant found in Europe and Asia causes hemorrhagic and renal syndromes. Which affect the kidneys and blood vessels.
The variant found in South America often causes hanta virus ‘cardiopulmonary’ syndrome. Which quickly causes problems in the lungs and heart. The death rate from this is up to 50 percent. While the death rate in Asia and Europe is (1-15) percent. There is no specific treatment for hanta virus. Those with such infections are given rest, kept in isolation, provided with respiratory support, and placed on a ventilator.
