The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised all passengers evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius to undergo a 42-day quarantine after the Andean hantavirus was discovered on board. The measure is due to take effect from 10 May.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing after the evacuation began that the organization's recommendation was unequivocal. „Our recommendation is clear: 42 days of quarantine with active medical surveillance from 10 May,“ he said.
Tedros also stressed that the WHO only recommends a course of action to its member states, but does not have the authority to mandate it.
The MV Hondius, an expedition ship with about 150 passengers, mostly citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands, set sail three weeks ago from Ushuaia, Argentina, bound for the Canary Islands. During the voyage, it made several stops at islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Andean hantavirus belongs to a group of hantaviruses that can cause serious diseases, such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or haemorrhagic fever with kidney involvement. The virus is usually transmitted by contact with rodents, especially their urine, faeces or saliva.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Health announced that one of the 17 US citizens evacuated from the ship had tested positive for the Andean hantavirus. Authorities say he has only mild symptoms. The other passenger is showing mild symptoms and both are travelling back to the United States in special bio-isolation units on board a plane secured by the US State Department.
Health authorities are now monitoring the health of all evacuated passengers, as the incubation period of the virus can be long and the disease can be very serious.
gnews.cz - GH
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