GENEVA: Eight people infected by the hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius have tested positive for the Andes virus, the only strain transmitted between humans, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
“Eight cases of Andean virus (ANDV) infection have been laboratory confirmed, two are probable and one case remains inconclusive and is subject to further testing,” the UN health agency said in its latest update on the outbreak.
Three people on board the ship have died since it left Argentina on April 1 for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean.
Two of the victims had confirmed Andean virus infection, and the third is considered a “probable” case, according to the WHO.
Hantavirus is typically spread through the urine, feces, and saliva of infected rodents.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for this rare disease.
All known cases in the current outbreak involved people on board the cruise ship.
The case listed as inconclusive is that of an American passenger repatriated to the United States, who is “currently asymptomatic” and undergoing further testing after one positive and one negative result, the WHO said.
She kept her assessment of the public health risk from the outbreak at “moderate” for those on the ship and “low” for the rest of the world.
The origin of the epidemic is still unknown.
The WHO says the initial infection occurred before the cruise, as the first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch man, began showing symptoms on April 6, while the incubation period for the virus is one to six weeks.
