The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the Andes strain of hantavirus, which can be transmitted from person to person, in passengers who were on the cruise ship, officials said Wednesday.
The WHO’s top epidemic expert told The Associated Press that the risk to the public is low.
“This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said. “Most people will never be exposed to this.”
By Wednesday afternoon, the WHO had previously confirmed three cases of hantavirus and five suspected ones including two of the three patients who were evacuated from the cruise ship on Wednesday.
Ann Lindstrand, the WHO representative in Cape Verde, told The Associated Press that a sample from the third patient evacuated from the ship is still being checked.
“So far of all the cases related to this boat, the eight cases, we now have five confirmed with laboratory testing for Andes virus,” she said. “So it’s quite a lot.”
Eight cases have been recorded, three of which have been confirmed by laboratory testing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Three people have died from the illness, which originates in rodents but can spread person-to-person in some cases.
There is no specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.