"Passengers will be taken to a completely isolated, cordoned-off area, said the head of Spain's emergency services, Virginia Barcones. World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be on the island to help coordinate their evacuation, according to Spanish ministry sources cited by AFP."
"While three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are known to be infected with hantavirus, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said Friday there were no people with symptoms of a possible infection on board the ship. The WHO considers the risk to the wider public from the outbreak as low."
"This is not a new COVID, said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier. The virus is not that contagious that it easily jumps from person to person. Hantavirus is usually spread by the inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases."
"Health authorities across four continents were tracking down and monitoring more than two dozen passengers who disembarked the ship before the deadly outbreak was first detected on May 2. They were also scrambling to trace others who may have come into contact with them."
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius is en route to Tenerife in the Canary Islands after at least eight people fell ill with a hantavirus outbreak. Spanish authorities plan to completely isolate and cordon off the passengers and crew for evacuation upon arrival. The World Health Organization will coordinate the evacuation, and WHO leadership is expected to be on the island. Three deaths have been reported, and five passengers who left the ship are known to be infected. The cruise operator reports no symptomatic people on board. WHO assesses the risk to the wider public as low because hantavirus is usually spread through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people, though rare person-to-person spread may occur with the Andes virus. Authorities are monitoring more than two dozen disembarked passengers and tracing potential contacts.
#hantavirus #public-health-response #quarantine-and-isolation #cruise-ship-outbreak #world-health-organization
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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