The Swiss health authorities have communicated this Wednesday to the World Health Organization (WHO) the detection of a new case of hantavirus in a traveler who was on board the cruise ship "MV Hondius" and who is currently receiving medical attention in a hospital in Zurich. With this positive case, the number of cases confirmed by laboratory tests rises to three.
As explained by the WHO on the social network "X", this passenger responded to an email sent by the shipping company informing about the health incident and, after that, went to a hospital in Zurich (Switzerland). In total, eight people are affected by this outbreak, of which five are still in the confirmation phase.
"In accordance with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, in order to ensure that potentially exposed persons are monitored and that any further spread of the disease is limited," the WHO has detailed.
Furthermore, the international organization has pointed out that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa and the University Hospitals of Geneva (Switzerland) have verified that the virus responsible for the outbreak belongs to the species "Andes". The Institut Pasteur of Dakar (Senegal) and the National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (Argentina) have also played a key role in the response to this episode.
The WHO has stressed that it will continue collaborating with the various countries involved to ensure that patients, their contacts, passengers, and crew have the necessary information and support to protect themselves and minimize the risk of spread.