All posts tagged: hantavirus update

WHO issues major update on Hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship | World | News

WHO issues major update on Hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship | World | News

The cruise ship MV Hondius had set off from Argentina on April 1. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the last individual who had been identified as a contact of a hantavirus-exposed person aboard the MV Hondius had successfully completed their quarantine period. He added that the individual tested negative for the virus and had since returned home, marking the end of the monitoring process for all known contacts. Dr Tedros said that no further cases have been reported since May 25 and the “WHO considers the hantavirus outbreak over”. On Thursday, the WHO reported that authorities across 33 countries and territories had identified and monitored more than 650 contacts linked to the outbreak. The agency said it would continue collaborating with governments and international partners to deepen its understanding of the outbreak, while also advancing research and knowledge about hantavirus more broadly. Speaking at the briefing, WHO medical officer Dr Diana Rojas Alverez said: “Andes virus and other hantaviruses are still a public health risk for South America, and some other endemic …

Major hantavirus update as UK makes key move responding to deadly rat disease | World | News

Major hantavirus update as UK makes key move responding to deadly rat disease | World | News

The UK has deployed a rapid response mobile laboratory to the island of St Helena following an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, health officials have said. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday evening that three team members of the the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) had been sent to the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension in the South Atlantic in response to a request for support from the island’s government. It comes after it was announced that 10 Britons from South Atlantic islands connected to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak are to be brought to the UK in case they develop the illness. The group, thought to be residents of St Helena and Ascension, are being “brought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure”, the UK Health Security Agency said earlier this week. The deployed team includes two microbiologists, Clara Milroy and Kimberley Steeds, who will support with PCR testing for hantavirus as well as supporting testing to exclude other …