The operation deployed by the Spanish authorities in response to the hantavirus outbreak detected on the cruise ship MV Hondius has also led the National Police to distribute preventive instructions among its agents. The General Directorate of the Police has disseminated an internal protocol with basic action and prevention measures related to this virus.
The document has been prepared by the Occupational Risk Prevention Coordination Area and includes recommendations to minimize possible exposures during police actions or interventions in certain spaces considered at risk.
According to the protocol, the risk of contagion for agents is considered “low and fundamentally environmental”. The text points out that the main route of exposure is related to the inhalation of contaminated particles from the saliva, urine, or excrement of infected rodents.
Masks, ventilation, and eye protection
Among the preventive measures included in the document are the use of FFP2 or FFP3 masks, nitrile gloves, and eye protection in certain procedures.
The protocol also recommends previously ventilating closed spaces and avoiding actions that may raise dust or contaminated particles, such as sweeping certain surfaces.
In addition, the instructions contemplate the use of disposable monos in prolonged interventions or in situations where there may be a higher risk of environmental exposure.
Precautions in abandoned homes and confined spaces
The document disseminated among agents indicates that extreme precautions must be taken in places with possible presence of rodents or accumulation of waste. Among the mentioned spaces are abandoned dwellings, poorly ventilated areas, or places with accumulated garbage.
The Police also recall in the protocol against hantavirus that currently there is no specific vaccine against hantavirus and that the incubation period can last for several weeks.
The dissemination of these instructions coincides with the health and police operation organized for the arrival in the Canary Islands of the cruise ship affected by the outbreak. The authorities maintain various prevention and monitoring protocols activated related to passengers and people who have been in contact with them.