The World Health Organization said Thursday there were now five confirmed hantavirus cases from the Atlantic cruise ship outbreak, with three more suspected — and warned further cases were possible.
Despite the three fatalities, the WHO insisted that the outbreak on the MV Hondius was not the start of an epidemic, or a repeat of the spread of Covid-19.
The UN health agency said it expected the outbreak to be limited — so long as public health measures are properly implemented.
“So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths. Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus and the other three are suspected,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeus said.
“The species of hantavirus involved in this case is the Andes virus, which is found in Latin America,” he told a press conference in Geneva.
He stressed that “none of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship are currently symptomatic”./IP