WHO director arrives in Canary Islands to oversee hantavirus cruise evacuation: "This disease is not COVID"

Key Points:

• WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Tenerife to oversee the evacuation of over 100 people from a cruise ship experiencing a hantavirus outbreak, emphasizing that the risk to the local population is low and this disease is not COVID-19.
• The MV Hondius cruise ship has eight confirmed or suspected hantavirus cases and three deaths; none of the 147 people currently on board are symptomatic, with evacuation flights planned for passengers to return to their home countries for isolation.
• The hantavirus involved is the Andes strain, which can be transmitted through close contact, but health experts consider the likelihood of widespread transmission very small, and WHO recommends a 42-day isolation period for evacuees.
• The outbreak likely began with a Dutch couple exposed to the virus in South America before the cruise; the husband died on the ship, and the wife died after disembarking and traveling to South Africa.
• Passengers who disembarked earlier, including those in the U.S., are under observation but show no symptoms, and public health officials continue monitoring the situation closely.