WHO declares cruise

The World Health Organization has declared the ‌hantavirus outbreak over after the last identified contact ⁠of an exposed person linked to a cruise ship completed quarantine and tested negative for the virus.

The outbreak, which infected 13 people and killed three, ‌involved ⁠the rare Andes hantavirus strain that typically circulates in ⁠Argentina and Chile. The cruise ship Hondius ⁠sailed from Argentina on ⁠April 1.

“Today, the final contact of a person exposed to hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius completed their quarantine period, tested negative and returned home,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday. “No further cases have been reported since the 25th of May. Therefore, WHO considers the hantavirus outbreak over,” he added.

On April , the Dutch-flagged cruise ship set off from Ushuaia, Argentina, taking in remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, including Tristan da Cunha, before heading north to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, where remaining passengers were flown home.

The polar exploration ship finally docked in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on May 18.

After cleaning and disinfection, the ship was cleared to put to sea again on May 30.

Tedros said more than 650 contacts were identified and followed up by health authorities in 33 countries and territories.

He said the WHO would continue working to understand the outbreak and the virus itself.

“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,” Tedros said.

Hantavirus spreads primarily through rodents, infecting people through contact with rats, mice or their urine, droppings and saliva. The virus can become airborne during the cleaning of infested areas.

The Andes virus is the only known hantavirus ⁠that can spread through close, prolonged human-to-human contact.

Patients typically suffer fever, headache, muscle aches and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and abdominal pain between one and eight weeks after exposure.

In severe cases, the illness can rapidly progress to coughing, shortness of breath and fluid accumulation in the lungs. There are no approved vaccines or targeted antiviral treatments for the disease, with care remaining largely supportive.