The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius officially over. This announcement came on Thursday (July 2) after the last known contact completed a 42-day quarantine period, tested negative, and returned home. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that no new cases have been reported since May 25.
The outbreak involved 13 cases—12 confirmed and one probable—and resulted in three deaths, with at least two confirmed. All cases were among passengers or crew members of the ship. The outbreak response included extensive contact tracing, health monitoring, and quarantine measures. Over 650 contacts were identified and monitored across 33 countries and territories.
The outbreak was linked to the Andes virus, a rare strain of hantavirus known for human-to-human transmission. The first case is believed to have contracted the virus on land before boarding the ship. Despite the end of the outbreak, WHO will continue research to better understand hantavirus and develop future diagnostics and vaccines.
For more information, visit the WHO’s official announcement and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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