WHO declares hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship over

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship after the last identified contact of an exposed person completed quarantine and tested negative for the virus.

• WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus provided the latest on current global challenges on July 2.

• The outbreak, which infected 13 people and killed three, involved the Andes virus, a rare hantavirus strain that typically circulates in Argentina and Chile. 

• The cruise ship, MV Hondius, set off from Argentina on April 1.

• The first alert came from the United Kingdom, which notified WHO under International Health Regulations (IHR) on May 2 of the outbreak after passengers aboard the vessel developed severe respiratory illness during the trip from Argentina to Cabo Verde.

Key facts on hantavirus:

• Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses carried by rodents and are usually transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or their urine, saliva or droppings.

• Infection may also occur, although less commonly, through rodent bites. 

• Activities that involve contact with rodents such as cleaning enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, farming, forestry work and sleeping in rodent-infested dwellings increase exposure risk.

• Hantaviruses belong to the family Hantaviridae, within the order Bunyavirales. 

• Each hantavirus is typically associated with a specific rodent reservoir species, in which the virus causes long‑term infection without apparent illness.

• Although many hantavirus species have been identified worldwide, only a limited number are known to cause human disease.

• Worldwide, it is estimated that from 10,000 to over 100,000 infections occur each year, with the largest burden in Asia and Europe.

• The Andes strain, found in parts of Latin America, is the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission.

• When it occurs, transmission between people has been associated with close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members or intimate partners, and appears most likely during the early phase of illness, when the virus is more transmissible.

• Hantavirus found in the Western Hemisphere can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). The most common hantavirus that causes HPS in the US is spread by the deer mouse.

• HPS is a severe and potentially deadly disease that affects the lungs. It can be deadly. About 38 per cent of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease.

 Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a group of clinically similar illnesses caused by hantaviruses found mostly in Europe and Asia. However, Seoul virus, a type of hantavirus that causes HFRS, is found worldwide.

• HFRS is a severe and sometimes deadly disease that affects the kidneys.

• There is no specific treatment for hantavirus infection. Patients should receive supportive care, including rest, hydration, and treatment of symptoms.