WHO says hantavirus risk low as countries prep repatriation flights

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation’s chief is due in the Spanish island of Tenerife to help coordinate the evacuation of passengers hit by the hantavirus, Spanish ministry sources said Friday (May 8).

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will accompany Spain’s health and interior ministers to a command post there Saturday “to ensure coordination between administrations, health control, and the application of the planned surveillance and response protocols”, the sources said.

Three passengers from the MV Hondius – a Dutch husband and wife and a German woman – have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents.

The only hantavirus strain that can transmit from person to person – Andes virus – has been confirmed among those who have tested positive, fuelling international concern.

The Dutch-flagged vessel, which has around 150 people on board, is expected to arrive at the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife on Sunday. Special flights will then take passengers to their home countries.

Earlier Friday, the WHO insisted that the hantavirus outbreak posed a minimal risk to the general public. 

“This is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who’s really infected, and the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters.

A picture was emerging from MV Hondius where “even those who have been sharing cabins don’t seem to be both infected in some cases”, when one has fallen sick, he added.

“The virus is not that contagious that it easily jumps from person to person,” he said.

The WHO said Friday there were five confirmed and three suspected cases of the virus. There are no suspected cases remaining on the ship.