Andes virus — the only hantavirus strain that can spread between people — identified as culprit on cruise ship
Confirmed and suspected cases of hantavirus infection have struck eight people on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, and now laboratory tests have pointed to a specific type of hantavirus being involved.
Hantavirus are a large family of viruses carried by rodents, such as rats. It is relatively rare for them to cause infections in humans, but when they do, they can be fatal – depending on the type of hantavirus in question, mortality rates vary between 1% and 50%. There is no specific treatment to cure hantavirus infections, but prompt medical care to manage symptoms can improve patients’ chances of survival.
After learning about the cluster of illnesses associated with the cruise ship and identifying hantaviruses as possible culprits, health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO), there is already suspicion that the Andes virus could be to blame. Currently, three people who became ill on the cruise have died, including one with a confirmed hantavirus infection; Additionally, several other people are receiving care for suspected infections and two people receiving medical care have confirmed infections.
At a press conference on May 4, Maria Van Kerkhoveacting director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at WHO, said the agency was operating under the assumption that the Andes virus was the cause of the illnesses and was taking necessary precautions to prevent new cases. This includes isolating suspected cases, since Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to spread between people.
Today, the Center for Emerging Viral Diseases at Geneva University Hospital, a WHO collaborating center, examined a clinical sample from one of the people infected on the cruise. The patient is being treated at Zurich University Hospital, where he was immediately placed in isolation upon arrival.
The patient “responded to an email from the ship operator informing passengers of the health event, presented himself at a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, and is being treated there,” WHO posted on May 6 on. His case brings the total number of hantavirus cases associated with the cruise to eight, including three confirmed infections and five suspected infections.
The hospital staff followed the WHO’s lead, also assuming that the patient was infected with the Andes virus. “Our results confirmed this hypothesis,” Schibler said of their lab results, which were announced on May 6.
“It is clear that we would have preferred that it was a hantavirus for which [human-to-human] transmission is not documented,” Schibler said. “Unfortunately, that is not the case.”
The positive side is that, as far as scientists know, Andes virus does not spread as easily as many major pathogens. “It’s not as transmissible a virus through the respiratory route as Covid or the flu. So that’s pretty reassuring information,” Schibler said. Nonetheless, it will be important to remain vigilant and effectively isolate any suspected cases, to limit further spread as much as possible, he said.
Schibler and his colleagues now aim to sequence the virus’s genetic material to gather more information about its subtype, but that data likely won’t affect the immediate care of patients with hantavirus infections, he noted.
On (The WHO statement does not specify which patient samples were analyzed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, but one patient with confirmed hantavirus infection is currently receiving care in Johannesburg.)
Investigations are ongoing and will include further analysis of suspected and confirmed cases, WHO said. Three people with suspected cases were evacuated from the ship on May 5 be transported to the Netherlands for medical treatment. Van Kerkhove said the rest of those on board planned to travel to the Canary Islands, where authorities would conduct a full epidemiological investigation, disinfect the ship and assess the remaining passengers.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to offer medical advice.
