GENEVA: Eight people infected by the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship have tested positive for the Andes virus, the only strain transmitted between humans, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
“Eight cases were laboratory confirmed of Andes virus (ANDV) infection, two are probable and one case remains inconclusive and is undergoing further testing,” the UN health agency said in its latest update on the outbreak.
Three people aboard the ship have died since it set sail from Argentina on April 1 for a cruise in the Atlantic Ocean.
Two of the victims had confirmed Andes virus infections and the third is listed as a “probable” case, according to the WHO.
Hantavirus is normally transmitted through the urine, feces, and saliva of infected rodents.
There are no vaccines or specific treatments for this rare disease.
All known cases in the current outbreak were people aboard the cruise ship.
The case listed as inconclusive is that of an American passenger repatriated to the United States, who is “currently asymptomatic” and is undergoing further testing after a positive and a negative result, the WHO said.
He kept his assessment of the outbreak’s public health risk at “moderate” for those on the ship and “low” for the rest of the world.
The origin of the outbreak is still unknown.
The WHO says the original infection occurred before the cruise, because the first victim, a 70-year-old Dutchman, began showing symptoms on April 6, while the incubation period of the virus is one to six weeks.
