WHO states hantavirus risk remains low despite outbreak on MV Hondius cruise ship

The World Health Organization WHO has affirmed that the risk of hantavirus to the general public is minimal, even as countries prepare to repatriate passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which has experienced a deadly outbreak. Three passengers from the Dutch-flagged vessel have died, and others have fallen ill with the rare disease. The Andes virus, a hantavirus species transmissible from person to person, has been confirmed among those infected, raising international concern. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier emphasized that while the virus is dangerous to infected individuals, its risk to the general population is low, noting that even cabin-mates on the ship have not always both been infected. He added that the virus does not appear to be highly contagious between people. The MV Hondius, carrying approximately 150 people, is expected to arrive in Tenerife, Spain, on Sunday, where special flights will transport passengers to their home countries. In a positive development, a KLM flight attendant who had contact with an infected passenger from the cruise ship and later showed mild symptoms tested negative for hantavirus. This individual had been in contact with the wife of the first person to die in the outbreak, who was briefly on a flight from Johannesburg to the Netherlands before being removed and later dying in a Johannesburg hospital. US President Donald Trump stated that he had been briefed on the situation and hoped it was "under control." Passengers on the MV