The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that the deadly hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius cruise ship, which has caused widespread international concern, is expected to be officially declared over on July 2.
However, while the episode is coming to an end for the last people still in quarantine, the work is only just beginning for scientists and experts. Samples of the virus will be used to determine whether tests, treatments and vaccines could be developed for future outbreaks.
Twelve confirmed cases and one probable case, including three fatalities, have been linked to the Dutch ship MV Hondius, in an outbreak that sparked an international health alert.
The ship left Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, stopping at remote islands in the South Atlantic before sailing north to Tenerife in the Spanish Canaries, where the remaining passengers were evacuated.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that more than 650 contact cases have been identified and monitored by health authorities in 33 countries and territories. “All but 54 contact cases have completed their quarantine period, and the remaining contact cases must complete their quarantine period by July 2,” he said at a press conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva. “If no new cases are reported by then, the WHO will consider the epidemic to be over. »
Science takes over
The UN health agency is working with partners who took samples on board the ship, and is coordinating a study of people exposed to the virus to better understand how the disease develops.
“We are also working to ensure that a sample of the virus is shared with the WHO BioHub in Switzerland,” added the WHO boss. “This will be important for developing diagnostic tools, treatments and vaccines for future outbreaks. »
Transmitted by rodents, hantavirus is a rare virus for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment. The Andean species responsible for the outbreak aboard the Hondius is the only known strain of hantavirus capable of jumping from human to human.
