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Hantavirus Spreads: Crew Member Tests Positive
22 May
Summary
- A crew member tested positive for hantavirus while isolating.
- The outbreak on the MV Hondius has reached 12 infections.
- Three individuals have tragically lost their lives due to the virus.
A Dutch crew member from the cruise ship MV Hondius has tested positive for hantavirus while undergoing isolation in the Netherlands. This brings the total number of infections linked to the ship's outbreak to 12, and tragically, three people have died. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the new case involving a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife and was repatriated.
The MV Hondius docked in Rotterdam earlier this week, with remaining crew members being tested and placed in isolation. The long incubation period of hantavirus, up to 60 days, presents a significant challenge in managing the outbreak. Global contact tracing has identified over 6,000 contacts in 30 countries, with a few high-risk individuals still needing to be located.
The virus is believed to have originated from a Dutch couple who had recently traveled in South America. While hantavirus typically circulates in rodents, the Andres strain on the MV Hondius is unusual due to evidence of person-to-person transmission. No approved vaccines exist for this strain, prompting a study involving 20 Britons exposed to the disease.
