Hantavirus, the disease which has caused a deadly outbreak on a cruise ship in the southern Atlantic, circulates in rodents and can be deadly when transmitted to humans.
Dutch cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed Monday it was dealing with “a serious medical situation” on board the MV Hondius, travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.
Hantaviruses are among the pathogens that can cause respiratory and cardiac distress, as well as haemorrhagic fevers.
There are no vaccines or specific medications to combat hantaviruses, meaning treatment consists solely of attempting to relieve the symptoms.
There are many types of hantavirus, which vary in their geographical spread and their pathologies, according to Switzerland’s FOPH health ministry.
“Human-to-human transmission has only been observed with one single virus type, which is extremely rare,” it says.
Hantaviruses are found on every continent.
The virus is named after the Hantan River in South Korea, where more than 3,000 troops fell seriously ill after becoming infected with it during the 1950-1953 Korean War, the FOPH says.
Hantaviruses are transmitted to humans through infected wild rodents, such as mice or rats, which shed the virus in their saliva, urine, and droppings.
A bite, contact with these rodents or their droppings, or breathing in contaminated dust can cause infection.
Source: Insider Paper
