BUENOS AIRES: Argentina will expand its search for hantavirus-carrying rodents to western Mendoza province as part of an investigation into a deadly cruise ship outbreak in April, the health ministry said Friday. The MV Hondius was sailing from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde when its journey was disrupted after three passengers died following a hantavirus outbreak. Attention soon focused on the South American nation, where the Andes hantavirus strain is endemic in several regions, as the potential origin of the outbreak. In May, scientists from Malbran Institute, Argentina&#39;s leading center for infectious diseases, traveled to Ushuaia to determine whether rodents in the area carried the rare respiratory disease. Scientists from the institute will next travel to Mendoza to conduct further investigations with experts from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from June 8 to 12, the health ministry said. Results from over 100 rodents captured in Tierra del Fuego in May were still being analyzed, the statement added. Hantavirus is endemic in several Argentine provinces, though not in Mendoza. The sites for the new study &quot;were selected on the basis of ecological and eco-epidemiological criteria&quot; linked to rodent habits, the ministry said. According to the University of Mendoza, the province &quot;currently has no confirmed local circulation of the Andes virus.&quot; But there is &quot;a potential presence of the reservoir rodent,&quot; it added. Tierra del Fuego has meanwhile not had a case of hantavirus since its reporting became mandatory 30 years ago.

Americas

Argentina expands its hantavirus investigation to Mendoza province with support from US CDC experts, as authorities trace the source of a deadly cruise ship outbreak that killed three passengers in April.

Argentina to expand hantavirus search to a second province

ROTTERDAM (NETHERLANDS): The cruise ship that sparked global alarm after a deadly outbreak of hantavirus made its final approach to Rotterdam today (Monday), with the remaining skeleton crew facing weeks of quarantine. The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Dutch port before midday (1000 GMT), according to officials, before disembarking the remaining 27 people on board, including 25 crew and two medical staff. AFP reporters on board a separate vessel caught sight of the ship as it steamed towards Rotterdam, Europe&#39;s biggest port, for final docking and disinfection. The ship, operated by Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, made headlines after three passengers died from hantavirus, a rare virus for which no vaccines nor specific treatments exist. The World Health Organization (WHO) has scrambled to reassure the world that the outbreak was not a repeat of the Covid pandemic, stressing that contagion was very rare. &quot;There is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,&quot; WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on May 12. However, the virus has an incubation period of several weeks, meaning more cases from the ship&#39;s occupants could emerge in the future, Tedros warned. Hantavirus has been confirmed in seven patients, with one other probable case, according to an AFP tally from official sources. The most recent positive test came from Canada in a patient who was onboard the Hondius, officials said late Sunday. Andes strainThe people disembarking on Monday comprise 17 from the Philippines, four from the Netherlands (two crew and two medical staff), four from Ukraine, one from Russia, and one from Poland. Some of them will stay in quarantine facilities at the port, while others will self-isolate at home. Also on board is the body of a German woman who died during the voyage. After docking, the ship will undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection procedures, according to the operator. The MV Hondius&#39;s voyage began on April 1 in Ushuaia, Argentina, taking in some remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean before steaming north to Cape Verde. The trip was supposed to finish there, but the ship eventually sailed to Tenerife in the Canary Islands for the evacuations by plane. The MV Hondius presented diplomatic challenges as different countries negotiated over who would receive it and treat its passengers. Cape Verde refused to take the ship, which remained anchored offshore of the capital Praia as three people were evacuated to Europe by air. Spain allowed the vessel to anchor off its Canary Islands for the evacuation of passengers and crew, but the Atlantic archipelago&#39;s regional government fiercely opposed the measure. Hantavirus spreads from the urine, faeces, and saliva of infected rodents and is endemic in Argentina, where the voyage began. Those infected have the Andes virus, the only strain of hantavirus that can spread between people. Kiki Hirschfeldt, a spokeswoman for the operator, said it was too early to say what impact the outbreak could have on the appetite for cruises. &quot;I mean, for as far as we know right now, the virus was brought on board, and that can happen in a hotel, in an airplane, in a boat,&quot; she told AFP.

Europe

The MV Hondius docked in Rotterdam after a deadly hantavirus outbreak killed three passengers. Remaining crew entered quarantine as WHO reassured the public the rare virus posed no global threat.

Hantavirus-hit cruise ship to dock in Rotterdam at voyage end

GRANADILLA DE ABONA (SPAIN):&nbsp;An American national and a French woman evacuated from a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, health officials confirmed on Monday, as an international repatriation operation continued across several countries. According to French Health Minister Stephanie Rist, the French passenger began feeling unwell on Sunday night after returning to Paris from the Dutch-flagged cruise vessel MV Hondius. Medical tests later confirmed she had contracted the virus. Meanwhile, US health authorities said one American passenger had developed mild symptoms while another tested positive for the Andes virus, the only known strain of hantavirus capable of spreading between humans. The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has already claimed the lives of three passengers, including a Dutch couple and a German woman. Several other passengers also fell ill during the voyage. Hantavirus is a rare disease usually spread through contact with infected rodents. There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment available for the illness, which is considered endemic in parts of Argentina, where the cruise began its journey in April. Despite growing international concern, health authorities stressed that the overall risk to global public health remains low and rejected comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic. French authorities said 22 additional contact cases involving French nationals were being monitored. These included passengers who travelled on flights between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, and between Johannesburg and Amsterdam. The Dutch woman who later died had reportedly travelled on the Johannesburg flight and briefly boarded a connecting flight to Amsterdam before being removed from the aircraft. Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said 94 people from 19 countries were evacuated from the ship on Sunday near Tenerife in Spain&rsquo;s Canary Islands. Most of the ship&rsquo;s nearly 150 passengers and crew members are expected to be repatriated through special flights to countries including Australia and the Netherlands. Passengers wearing blue medical protective suits were seen disembarking the vessel at the industrial port of Granadilla on Tenerife. The World Health Organization has recommended a 42-day quarantine period and active medical monitoring for exposed individuals. Countries have adopted different quarantine measures. Greece said one evacuee would remain in hospital isolation for 45 days, while Australia announced that six passengers would be quarantined at a special facility near Perth for at least three weeks. British authorities said 20 UK nationals from the ship would undergo testing and short-term quarantine near Liverpool. The MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 for a transatlantic cruise toward Cape Verde. The World Health Organization believes the first infection may have occurred before the voyage began, followed by human-to-human transmission aboard the ship. Spain on Monday said it is taking &quot;all measures&quot; to prevent hantavirus spread from those aboard the cruise ship.

An American and a French passenger tested positive after evacuation from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, prompting international quarantines and a large-scale repatriation operation across several countries.

US, French nationals from hantavirus ship test positive

WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it was organizing an evacuation flight for Americans on a hantavirus-struck cruise ship that has sailed to the Canary Islands. &quot;The Department of State is arranging a repatriation flight to support the safe return of American passengers on this ship,&quot; a State Department spokesperson said. The State Department said it was coordinating with the Spanish government as well as other US federal agencies. &quot;We are in direct communication with Americans on board and are prepared to provide consular assistance as soon as the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain,&quot; the spokesperson said on customary condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear how many Americans were on the ship. The World Health Organization said earlier that the United States was among 12 countries which had nationals who disembarked the ship at Saint Helena.

US arranges evacuation flight for Americans aboard hantavirus-hit cruise ship headed to Canary Islands

Articles tagged with "Hantavirus Cruise"

Argentina to expand hantavirus search to a second province

Hantavirus-hit cruise ship to dock in Rotterdam at voyage end

US, French nationals from hantavirus ship test positive

US plans evacuation flight for Americans on hantavirus ship

Argentina to expand hantavirus search to a second province