WHO chief says hantavirus will spread as Brits flown 5,000 miles to isolate
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has admitted that hantavirus will continue to spread, although there have been no signs of a mass public outbreak of the rat-borne disease as of yet.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited the ‘long incubation period’ as the reason why health officials expect to see hantavirus infection rates climb. And, while the WHO boss has said there is no indication of a mass public outbreak, two people who were not passengers aboard the virus-stricken ship, the MV Hondius, have been hospitalised as health officials fear they have contracted the rat virus.
Hantavirus triggered an international emergency response from global health authorities in recent weeks the globe after an outbreak of the rat-borne disease was confirmed on board the Dutch-flagged cruise ship. So far 11 cruise passengers have contracted with the disease, with three deaths in total.
WHO chief, Dr Tedros, told reporters at a Madrid press conference on Tuesday (May 12): “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.”
He added that more cases were likely to surface in the coming weeks due to the high level of interaction between passengers aboard the MV Hondius, as well as the long incubation timeframe of the virus.
“We would expect more cases because, as you may remember, the index case – the first case in the ship – was on April 6 … [and] there was a lot of interaction, actually, with the passengers. And as you know, the incubation period is also six to eight weeks,” he said.
“So because of the interaction while they were still in the ship – especially before they started taking some infectious prevention measures – we would expect more cases.”
Dr Tedros added that, with the passengers now largely repatriated to their home countries, their individual nations now bear responsivity for managing the related health and the relevant hantavirus risks. “I hope they will take care of the patients and the passengers, helping them and also protecting their citizens as well. That’s what we expect,” he said.
Comments made by the WHO head on Tuesday come as 10 Brits linked to the MV Hondius outbreak make their way to the UK. As per UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the new group – thought to be residents of the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension Island – are now being ‘brought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure’.
The new 10 will arrive just those isolating at Merseyside’s former Covid quarantine hospital Arrowe Park – 20 Brits, a German-UK resident, and a Japanese passenger – prepare to depart the Wirral facility having completed an initial three-day assessment period.
They will continue self-isolating for a further 42 days, with many expected to do so at home under daily monitoring from health protection teams.
It has not been confirmed whether the new arrivals will be taken to Arrowe Park.
Hospitals in France and Italy are now running tests on two people who are suspected to have contracted the virus despite not being passengers of the virus-stricken vessel.
A 25-year-old Italian man has been placed in quarantine after he boarded a Dutch KLM flight and was alongside cruise passenger Mirjam Schilperoord, 69, the wife of the first confirmed case. She later became the ship’s second hantavirus death, dying 14 days after her husband succumbed to the virus while they were still aboard the MV Hondius.
In Brittany, France, a second person was with a suspected case of hantavirus. Tests results are now pending as authorities seek to confirm if either – or both – have contracted the rat-borne infection.
