Published on: 2026-05-08
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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The risk of spreading the antavirus among the general public remains “absolutely low,” and the situation has nothing in common with the COVID-19 pandemic. This was stated by representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday at a briefing in Geneva. WHO continues to coordinate response measures to the outbreak on the cruise ship anchored off the coast of Cape Verde.
Recall that three people on board the Dutch liner Hondius died, several others fell ill, which triggered a large-scale international response from the countries of Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
WHO representative Christian Lindmeier noted on Friday that even people who were in close contact with the sick, including a flight attendant who served one of the passengers, tested negative. According to him, this confirms that the virus is primarily dangerous for those who are actually infected, but does not pose a significant threat to the population as a whole.
According to WHO data, eight cases of infection have been registered, including five laboratory confirmed and three suspected. Lindmeier emphasized that even cohabitation in one cabin did not always lead to transmission of the infection, which further demonstrates its extremely limited ability to spread from person to person.
Transmission chains are carefully monitored
Contact tracing for potentially infected individuals continues beyond the ship. A Dutch stewardess, who had brief contact with a passenger who later died from the infection, also tested negative. According to Lindmayer, specialists are analyzing the passenger lists of airplanes and ships, as well as the routes of people’s movements, to exclude all possible chains of transmission.
WHO emphasizes that the current outbreak is fundamentally different from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, which claimed millions of lives. Transmission through antibodies usually requires prolonged and close contact—most often among family members, partners, or healthcare workers. Meanwhile, the patient’s wife, who is undergoing treatment in Switzerland, shows no symptoms, which according to the WHO representative confirms the virus’s low contagiousness.
How the outbreak unfolded
The first patient known to the health authorities became ill on April 6 and died on board the ship. His wife died after evacuation to South Africa, where laboratory tests confirmed the viral infection. Before boarding the liner, the spouses traveled around Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, visiting areas inhabited by rodents – natural carriers of the virus.
Another passenger died on May 2. One man remains in intensive care in South Africa, but his condition is improving. Other patients have been transferred to hospitals in the Netherlands. WHO reported that among the passengers and crew remaining on board, there are no symptoms of illness.
Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses transmitted by rodents. Human infection usually occurs through contact with infected animals or their excretions. The Andean strain, found in certain Latin American countries, is the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission. It was passengers of the cruise liner Hondius who became infected with it.
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