The UK Foreign Office has warned that deadly hantavirus is now a health concern in Argentina after the MV Hondius departed from that country before being hit by an outbreak
The Foreign Office has advised British travellers that hantavirus has emerged as a serious health risk in Argentina. The alert was triggered by a suspected outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise liner, which has seen five of eight suspected infections confirmed and resulted in three fatalities.
Argentinian authorities suspect a Dutch couple, regarded as the primary cases, caught the deadly virus during a birdwatching excursion. While their travels included Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before they joined the cruise, the ship’s departure from Argentina has led investigators to focus their search for the infection’s origin there.
In a fresh development, a missing Briton who departed the vessel early has been located but remains overseas. While this individual has been traced, they have not yet arrived back in the United Kingdom, The Mirror reports.
The cruise ship is currently voyaging towards the Canary Islands after a previous scheduled stop at Cape Verde. The vessel remains at the heart of the ongoing health investigation as authorities continue to track the spread of the virus.
Under the health section of its travel advice for Argentina, the UK Foreign Office states: “Hantavirus is present in Argentina. Read more information about hantavirus in Argentina on TravelHealthPro. Further guidance on hantavirus is available from the UK Health Security Agency and Argentina’s Ministry of Health (website in Spanish).”
Tests have confirmed that at least five people who were on the ship were infected with a hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said that while the risk to the public is low, there could be more cases due to the incubation period of the Andes virus.
“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said. “While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.”
He added: “I would also like to thank the ship’s operator for its co-operation, and the passengers and crew who are going through a very difficult and frightening situation.
“I’ve been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning. He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again.”
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