London: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said two Indian crew members working on a luxury expedition cruise ship are at risk of Hantavirus infection and are being closely monitored by health authorities.
The Dutch-flagged vessel MV Hondius, operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, began its voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 and is expected to reach Spain’s Canary Islands on Saturday.
Several passengers on board recently reported illness. Tests identified the cause as Hantavirus, a rodent-borne infection. So far, five cases have been confirmed, and two deaths have been reported—one man from the Netherlands and a woman from Germany.
As part of containment measures, 40 passengers were disembarked on the isolated St Helena island in the South Atlantic. Authorities from their respective European and African countries reportedly arranged their evacuation and treatment.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Hantavirus can spread when people inhale virus particles from the air contaminated by rodents’ urine, droppings or saliva, especially in poorly ventilated areas such as ships, warehouses and storage facilities. He added that human-to-human transmission is unusual in Asian and European strains, though some South American variants like the Andes virus have shown such spread, and noted that the overall global public health risk remains low.
