More cases of hantavirus coming – WHO chief

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that “we might see more cases” of the deadly Andes strain of hantavirus emerge in the coming days, after an 11th case was recorded.

The virus has killed three people who left Argentina on a cruise ship last month, and infected eight others. The most recent case was confirmed by the Spanish Health Ministry on Tuesday, and involves a passenger who had been quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid after traveling on the ship.

“At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak, but of course the situation could change and, given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,” Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Madrid on Tuesday.

Ghebreyesus thanked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for showing “compassion and solidarity” by allowing the ship, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, to dock at Spain’s Canary Islands on Monday. From the Canaries, passengers were evacuated to their home countries, where authorities were urged by Tedros to keep them quarantined for 42 days.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents, and spread to humans through contact with their droppings, urine, or saliva. The Andes strain is the only variant known to spread from human to human, and causes hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HPS) in those it infects.

After a long incubation period of between six and eight weeks, patients typically experience flu-like symptoms that can develop into heart problems, hypertension, and buildup of fluid in the lungs and chest cavity. The Andes strain of hantavirus has a fatality rate of around 38%.

On Saturday, Tedros stressed that “the current public health risk from hantavirus remains low,” and that the outbreak would not become “another Covid.”

The MV Hondius left Argentina carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries. So far, every confirmed case has involved someone who traveled on the ship. Twenty British nationals are in isolation in the UK, 14 Spaniards are quarantined at the military hospital in Madrid, and five French citizens are being monitored in Paris. One of them, a 65-year-old woman, developed serious symptoms and was placed on a ventilator on Tuesday, French authorities said. Twelve Dutch health workers have also been quarantined after incorrectly handling the bodily fluids of a hantavirus patient.

Out of 17 Americans evacuated from the ship, one who tested positive for the virus will be quarantined, while the others will be permitted to go home after a brief checkup. Tedros has warned that this approach “may have risks.”