New Delhi: Amid the global alarm, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday confirmed five hantavirus cases linked to a cruise ship outbreak, while three additional cases remain suspected.
Eight severe respiratory illness cases, including three deaths, have been identified, with five confirmed as Andes virus infections.
WHO informed 12 countries whose nationals disembarked the cruise ship MV Hondius earlier during the voyage at the remote British territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Those 12 countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing in Geneva that the agency currently expects the outbreak to remain “limited” if appropriate public health measures are implemented quickly and effectively.
He, however, warned that additional cases remain possible as authorities continue tracing exposed passengers and contacts across multiple countries. WHO said around 2,500 hantavirus diagnostic kits are being shipped from laboratories in Argentina to five countries.
