Hantavirus outbreak: Deadly Andes strain detected in cruise ship cases; Eight cases confirmed
According to AFP Who Said, “Eight cases of Andes virus (ANDV) infection were laboratory confirmed, two are probable, and one case is inconclusive and undergoing further testing.”The outbreak has so far killed three people aboard the ship, which left Argentina on April 1 for a transatlantic cruise. WHO said two of the dead were confirmed to have Andes virus infection, while the third was classified as a probable case.Hantavirus is usually spread by contact with the urine, saliva, or feces of infected rodents. There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for this disease.
WHO says public health risk remains less
WHO said the public health risk to passengers and crew aboard the ship is “moderate”, but “low” to the rest of the world.WHO believes the first infections likely occurred before the cruise set sail as the first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch passenger, developed symptoms on April 6.The incubation period of the virus ranges from one to six weeks.According to AFP, the inconclusive case involves an American traveler who has since been deported back to the United States. The passenger currently has no symptoms and is undergoing further testing following one positive and one negative result.
American patients are under observation
According to news agency AP, more than 120 passengers and crew members were evacuated from the cruise ship and sent to different countries for quarantine and monitoring.They included Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, an Oregon oncologist who was placed in a special biocontainment unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after an inconclusive nasal swab result.Kornfeld later told CNN, “I feel amazing, 100%.” He said he had earlier experienced flu-like symptoms during the journey, including chills, fatigue and night sweats, but had later recovered.Kornfeld has now been cleared to leave the biocontainment unit and has been transferred to a standard quarantine facility with other monitored Americans.US health officials said the widespread public risk is low because hantavirus does not spread easily between people, although the Andes strain identified in the outbreak can rarely spread between humans.WHO has advised all passengers and crew of the ship to remain in quarantine for 42 days.