Hantavirus not the start of a pandemic, says WHO

In a statement made yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated that the overall public health risk posed by hantavirus remains low.

“This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a Covid pandemic,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, Acting Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Management at the WHO. “Hantaviruses have been around for quite a while. We know this virus. It does not spread the same way that coronaviruses do.”

Unlike Covid-19, hantaviruses are mostly contracted from animals, rather from other humans. People usually become infected by breathing in air contaminated with virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concurred, recently classifying the outbreak as “Level 3” – the lowest level of emergency activation, signifying that it is monitoring the situation but views it as a low level of public risk.

The MV Hondius, where the current outbreak originated, is currently heading north from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands, where the Spanish government has agreed to allow the vessel to dock.

The WHO has confirmed that no passengers or crew on board the vessel are showing symptoms of the virus.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently said that a third UK national linked to the cruise ship, who is currently on the island of Tristan da Cunha, is believed to have the virus. It follows the confirmation of cases in two other UK nationals, currently in hospitals in the Netherlands and South Africa.

Eight cases have been reported so far, including three deaths.