The organization insists that the outbreak will not become \u201canother Covid\u201d<\/p>\n
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that \u201cwe might see more cases\u201d of the deadly Andes strain of hantavirus emerge in the coming days, after an 11th case was recorded.
\nThe virus has killed three people who left Argentina on a cruise ship last month, and infected eight others. The most recent case was confirmed by the Spanish Health Ministry on Tuesday, and involves a passenger who had been quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid after traveling on the ship.
\n\u201cAt the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak, but of course the situation could change and, given the long incubation period of the virus, it\u2019s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,\u201d Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday.
\nGhebreyesus thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for showing \u201ccompassion and solidarity\u201d by allowing the ship, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, to dock at Spain\u2019s Canary Islands on Monday. From the Canaries, passengers were evacuated to their home countries, where authorities were urged by Tedros to keep them quarantined for 42 days.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Hantavirus: How dangerous is the cruise ship outbreak?<\/p>\n
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents, and spread to humans through contact with their droppings, urine, or saliva. The Andes strain is the only variant known to spread from human to human, and causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HPS) in those it infects.
\nAfter a long incubation period of between six and eight weeks, patients typically experience flu-like symptoms that can develop into heart problems, hypertension, and buildup of fluid in the lungs and chest cavity. The Andes strain of hantavirus has a fatality rate of around 38%.
\nOn Saturday, Tedros stressed that \u201cthe current public health risk from hantavirus remains low,\u201d and that the outbreak would not become \u201canother Covid.\u201d
\nThe MV Hondius left Argentina carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries. So far, every confirmed case has involved someone who traveled on the ship. Twenty British nationals are in isolation in the UK, 14 Spaniards are quarantined at the military hospital in Madrid, and five French citizens are being monitored in Paris. One of them, a 65-year-old woman, developed serious symptoms and was placed on a ventilator on Tuesday, French authorities said. Twelve Dutch health workers have also been quarantined after incorrectly handling the bodily fluids of a hantavirus patient.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: US decision on hantavirus ship passengers \u2018may have risks\u2019 \u2013 WHO chief<\/p>\n
Out of 17 Americans evacuated from the ship, one who tested positive for the virus will be quarantined, while the others will be permitted to go home after a brief checkup.\u00a0Tedros has warned that this approach \u201cmay have risks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The organization insists that the outbreak will not become \u201canother Covid\u201d World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that \u201cwe might see more cases\u201d of the deadly Andes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t