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So far, eight cases have been reported, including three deaths
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Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as hantavirus, and the other three are suspected
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Hantaviruses are a group of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe diseases in humans
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people are usually infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine droppings or saliva
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The species of antivirus involved in this case is the Andes virus which is found in Latin America
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and is the only species known to be capable of limited transmission between humans
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In previous outbreaks of Andis virus, transmission between people has been associated with close
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and prolonged contact particularly among household members intimate partners and people providing medical care That appears to be the case in the current situation The first case was in a man who developed symptoms on the 6th of April
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and died on the ship on the 11th of April. No samples were taken and because his symptoms were similar
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to those of other respiratory diseases, Hunter virus was not suspected. The man's wife went ashore
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when the ship docked at the island of St Helena and was also symptomatic
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She deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg on the 25th of April and died the next day
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samples were taken which were tested at South Africa's National Institute of
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Communicable Discs and confirmed as antivirus The third death was of a woman on the ship who developed symptoms on the 28th of April and died on the 2nd of May
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Another man presented to the ship's doctor on the 24th of April and he was evacuated on the 25th of April from the island of Ascension to South Africa where he remains in intensive care
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Doctors from Cabo Verde boarded the ship to provide care for the three other passengers with symptoms
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WHO coordinated their evacuation to the Netherlands for treatment. I would like to thank Prime Minister Ulises Correa e Silva of Cabo Verde for his support in facilitating the evacuation of these three patients based on our request
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Two are in a stable condition in hospital and one is asymptomatic and is now in Germany The eighth case was in a man who disembarked in St Helena Following advice from the ship operator he reported himself with symptoms in Zurich Switzerland
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and was confirmed yesterday to be infected with hantavirus. The Geneva University Hospitals then sequenced the virus
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and confirmed it as Andis. None of the remaining passengers or crew on the ship are currently symptomatic
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WHO is aware of reports of other people with symptoms who may have had contact with one of the passengers
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In each case, we are in close contact with the relevant authorities
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Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it's possible that more cases may be reported
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While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low
