The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reassured the public that the risk posed by the deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship remains low, stressing that the disease spreads only through very close contact.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier made the clarification during a press briefing in Geneva on Friday.
“This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,” Lindmeier said.
He noted that even individuals who shared cabins aboard the affected cruise ship did not all become infected, suggesting limited transmission.
The WHO had earlier warned that additional hantavirus cases could emerge after three passengers aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius died from the disease.
Another infected passenger reportedly arrived in Europe on Friday as health officials across several countries intensified efforts to contain the outbreak and trace possible contacts linked to the voyage.
The outbreak has sparked international concern because the rare Andes strain of hantavirus identified on the vessel can spread between humans, unlike most other hantavirus strains that are primarily transmitted through rodents.
However, health officials have continued to downplay fears of a wider global health emergency, insisting that the virus is far less contagious than COVID-19.
United States President Donald Trump also commented on the situation on Thursday, saying he had been briefed on the outbreak.
“It’s very much, we hope, under control,” Trump told reporters.
According to WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, five confirmed cases and three suspected infections have so far been recorded, including the three fatalities.
“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” Tedros said.
The Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands later confirmed that another patient had tested positive for the virus.
WHO’s Emergency Alert and Response Director, Abdi Rahman Mahamud, however, expressed optimism that the outbreak would remain limited if countries continue implementing public health precautions and cooperate closely.
Individuals believed to have contracted the virus are currently receiving treatment or isolating in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.
Hantavirus is a rare but potentially deadly respiratory disease commonly spread through infected rodents and can lead to respiratory distress, cardiac complications and haemorrhagic fever. There is currently no approved vaccine or cure.
Health authorities believe one passenger may have contracted the virus before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, before transmitting it to others during the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.
Argentine officials disclosed that rodent testing would be conducted in Ushuaia to help determine the possible origin of the outbreak.
Three infected passengers were evacuated from the vessel earlier this week after it anchored off Cape Verde, while another patient later arrived in Amsterdam, according to the ship’s operator.
The company stated that no symptomatic individuals currently remain aboard the vessel as it continues its journey toward Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, where it is expected to dock on Sunday.
A passenger aboard the ship, YouTuber Kasem Ibn Hattuta, posted a video online saying most passengers had remained calm despite widespread media attention surrounding the outbreak.
“Most people on board are reacting very calmly to the situation, unlike what is being reported in the media,” he said.
The first fatality involved a Dutch passenger who died aboard the ship on April 11. His body was later removed in Saint Helena on April 24, where 29 passengers also disembarked.
WHO said 12 countries have since been informed that some of their citizens left the vessel in Saint Helena.
The deceased man’s wife later died in South Africa after testing positive for hantavirus on May 4.
Officials are also tracing passengers aboard a commercial flight she boarded from Saint Helena to Johannesburg while showing symptoms.
Meanwhile, a German passenger reportedly died on May 2, with her body still aboard the vessel.
