Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s director of epidemic and pandemic management, said that the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship “is not the start of a COVID pandemic.”

Countries worldwide are trying to prevent further spread of the hantavirus by tracking those who had already disembarked the ship in St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean before the virus was detected and anyone in close contact with them since.

In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the WHO said. Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but in rare cases can be transmitted person-to-person.

#publichealth #health #cruise #hantavirus #infectiousdisease

Read the story here: https://reut.rs/42qbClA

👉 Subscribe: https://reut.rs/4b8fRGn

Keep up with the latest news from around the world: https://www.reuters.com/
Follow Reuters on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reuters
Follow Reuters on X: https://twitter.com/Reuters
Follow Reuters on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reuters/?hl=en