Online Reporter
MADRID. — World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that “we might see more cases” of the deadly Andes strain of hantavirus emerge in the coming days, after an 11th case was recorded.
The 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 travelling on the ship.
“At 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’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,” Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday.
Ghebreyesus thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for showing “compassion and solidarity” by allowing the ship, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, to dock at Spain’s 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.
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 in those it infects. – rt.com
