Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), announced he will personally oversee the evacuation of over 100 passengers from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship grappling with a hantavirus outbreak. In a letter addressed to the residents of the Canary Islands, where the ship is set to dock, Tedros expressed his commitment to being present during this critical operation. “I will be there myself,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of supporting health workers and officials involved in the evacuation.
The MV Hondius is currently en route to Tenerife, the largest island in the Canary Islands, and is expected to arrive just before dawn local time on Sunday, or around midnight Eastern Time in the United States. The ship has been under scrutiny after eight individuals onboard were reported with confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus, leading to three fatalities, as confirmed by the WHO on Friday. Despite these cases, the cruise line, Oceanwide Expeditions, reported that none of the 147 individuals currently aboard, including 60 crew members, are exhibiting symptoms.
Among those on the ship are 17 American passengers who will be evacuated in a small boat to shore. Upon arrival, they will be transferred to a plane awaiting them on the runway. This flight, organized by the U.S. government and monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will transport the Americans to the National Quarantine Center at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Maria van Kerkhove, WHO’s acting director of the Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, acknowledged the passengers’ anxiety about returning home but stressed the importance of ensuring their safety during the process.
As the evacuation progresses, each country represented among the passengers will implement similar procedures to facilitate their return. The Spanish Health Ministry has indicated that these passengers will be kept in isolation for 42 days following their last exposure to the virus, as recommended by the WHO. Hantavirus is primarily contracted through close contact with rodents and is not known to be transmissible from person to person, which has led health experts to believe the risk of widespread transmission remains low.
Dr. Tedros addressed concerns regarding the outbreak in his letter, recalling the public’s memories of the COVID-19 pandemic. He reassured the residents of the Canary Islands, stating, “This is not another COVID.” He reiterated that the current public health risk associated with the hantavirus outbreak remains low, a sentiment echoed by his colleagues in the health community.
The outbreak on the MV Hondius appears to have originated with a Dutch couple who had traveled through South America, the only region where the Andes strain of the hantavirus exists. Reports indicate that the couple engaged in bird-watching activities in areas known for rodent populations that have tested positive for the virus. The husband succumbed to the illness on April 11, while his wife had disembarked the ship in Saint Helena and subsequently died shortly after being removed from a KLM Airlines flight due to severe illness.
In the wake of the incident, numerous individuals who were on the same flight or had disembarked in Saint Helena are now under observation globally, including in various states across the U.S. Health departments in Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, New Jersey, and California have confirmed that none of the individuals under observation are currently showing symptoms of the virus.
As the MV Hondius approaches the Canary Islands, the focus remains on ensuring a safe and efficient evacuation for the passengers and crew. The WHO’s involvement underscores the seriousness of the situation, while also aiming to alleviate public concern regarding the hantavirus outbreak.
Source: CBS News
Leave a Reply