The World Health Organization confirms five cases of hantavirus following the outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius. Three people have died but the risk of further spread in society is assessed as low.
The outbreak on MV Hondius has led to five confirmed cases of hantavirus and three deaths among eight suspected cases. The ship departed Ushuaia in Argentina on March 20 with passengers from 28 countries, including a Swedish man.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove stressed during a press conference that the virus spreads in a completely different way than covid-19. "This is not covid, it is not influenza", Van Kerkhove said.
Professor Jonas Klingström at Linköping University assesses the risk of a pandemic as "very small" because human-to-human transmission is very rare. The ship is expected to reach Tenerife on Saturday for evacuation of the remaining passengers.
Social Minister Jakob Forssmed states that the government is closely following developments and that the Public Health Agency shares WHO's assessment of low community risk. A flight attendant in the Netherlands has been isolated with mild symptoms after contact with an infected person.
