Hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship over after last contact completes quarantine: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that the hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship is over.
It came after the final contact of a person exposed to the virus on the cruise ship completed their quarantine period, according to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The recommended quarantine and monitoring period for hantavirus exposure is 42 days.
The individual tested negative and returned home. No further cases have been reported since May 25, Tedros said during a media briefing.
As of Thursday, there have been a total of 13 cases of hantavirus -- 12 confirmed and one probable -- and three deaths, of which at least two have been confirmed, according to the WHO. All cases have been passengers or crew members on the ship.
Tedros said more than 650 contacts were identified and followed up by health authorities in 33 countries and territories.
"Although the outbreak is over, WHO will continue working with governments and partners to advance our understanding of this outbreak and of hantavirus more generally," Tedros said. "We are also coordinating a study involving 21 countries to understand how the disease develops, which will support the development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for future outbreaks."
Last week, quarantine ended for the 18 Americans who were cruise ship passengers on the MV Hondius and exposed to hantavirus.
The WHO said it received notification on May 2 of a cluster of "severe acute respiratory illness" aboard the MV Hondius, including two deaths and one critically ill passenger
The working hypothesis behind the cluster is that the first case was infected with hantavirus while on land, before boarding the cruise ship, according to the WHO.
At least 11 confirmed cases tested positive for Andes virus, a rare strain of hantavirus, and the only one that is known to transmit between people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
