Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that three people have died and three others have been infected with what is suspected to be the Hantavirus on board a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite these incidents, the WHO has assured that the risk to the general public remains low.
According to Palestine news and Information Agency - WAFA, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO's Regional Director for Europe, confirmed there is no need for panic or travel restrictions at this time. The UN agency is actively working with authorities to manage the situation. Currently, one patient is receiving intensive care at a South African hospital, while efforts are underway to evacuate two other symptomatic passengers from the cruise ship.
There are multiple types of hantavirus, each differing in geographic distribution, clinical symptoms, and mortality rates. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) notes that only one type of hantavirus is known to be transmitted between humans, and such cases are very rare.
Hantavirus is present on every continent and was named after the Hantan River between North and South Korea. During the Korean War in the early 1950s, over 3,000 soldiers were affected by the virus.