{"id":331556,"date":"2026-05-09T01:24:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T19:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=331556"},"modified":"2026-05-09T01:24:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T19:54:22","slug":"latest-suspected-hantavirus-cases-found-as-experts-issue-containment-guidance-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/09\/latest-suspected-hantavirus-cases-found-as-experts-issue-containment-guidance-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest suspected hantavirus cases found as experts issue containment guidance – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Two suspected cases of hantavirus were reported on Friday, with one in Spain and the opposite on the distant South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, in keeping with officials.<\/p>\n

A Spanish woman who was on the identical flight as a passenger who died of hantavirus is currently being treated at a hospital for a suspected infection, local officials said Friday.<\/p>\n

The Spanish Health Ministry said in a Friday briefing<\/a> that a 32-year-old woman was being treated in the town of Alicante.<\/p>\n

The lady was \u201csitting two rows behind the one that died from hantavirus, a one who tested positive, having had only temporary contact as they were on board the plane for a short while,\u201d said Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla.<\/p>\n

Padilla noted that others on the flight have developed potential symptoms but later tested negative, including a Dutch flight attendant.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat is what happened with the flight attendant on the KLM flight, and we’re confident that the identical will occur here,\u201d he said throughout the news conference.<\/p>\n

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that the Dutch KLM flight attendant had been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam on Thursday with signs of a possible infection but had tested negative.<\/p>\n

The infected woman travelled from St. Helena to Johannesburg on a business flight and was attempting to take one other flight home when she fell seriously ailing at O.R. Tambo International Airport. She died at a close-by hospital on April 26. She was one in all dozens of cruise ship passengers who disembarked at St. Helena.<\/p>\n

The lady\u2019s 70-year-old husband was the primary passenger to die on board the MV Hondius on April 11.<\/p>\n

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In a second case, a British government official said that an individual with a suspected case of hantavirus on the island of Tristan da Cunha is a resident who was hospitalized.<\/p>\n

Stephen Doughty, the U.K. minister of overseas territories, confirmed the news in a press release shared on Tristan da Cunha\u2019s official website<\/a>, writing, \u201cI wanted to achieve out personally and say I’m very sorry to listen to that Tristan has been affected by the health situation regarding the MV Hondius cruise ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts are with the islander currently in hospital and their spouse who’s isolating. I also understand you [Tristan da Cunha] have 4 islanders currently on St Helena that travelled on the ship,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Doughty said that he’s \u201cpersonally tracking events\u201d and can be sure to share \u201curgent advice and appropriate support as a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the WHO said there have been five confirmed cases of the virus and three suspected cases\u00a0as health officials proceed to hunt and monitor passengers who left the MV Hondius along its voyage.<\/p>\n

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Hantavirus normally spreads by inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and, in rare cases, will be transmitted from individual to individual, in keeping with the WHO. Symptoms normally show between one and eight weeks after exposure.<\/p>\n

There isn’t a specific treatment or cure for hantavirus, but early medical attention can increase the prospect of survival.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWHO working on guidance to contain hantavirus outbreak\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

World Health Organization officials are developing step-by-step operational guidance for the protected disembarkation and onward travel of passengers and crew once they reach land on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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Receive the most recent medical news and health information delivered to you each Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Half a dozen current and former WHO officials and hantavirus experts said the outbreak may very well be managed by adapting \u200bstandard public health steps, corresponding to isolating sick passengers or those that can have been in touch with them.<\/p>\n

The WHO has arranged for the shipment of two,500 diagnostic kits from Argentina to laboratories in five countries to strengthen testing capability.<\/p>\n

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Officials are looking for suggestions from Argentina, where a previous outbreak of the Andes virus was snuffed out in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we follow public health measures and \u200bthe teachings we learned from Argentina \u2026 we will break this chain of transmission. This doesn\u2019t should be a big epidemic,\u201d Abdi Rahman Mahamud, director \u200bof the WHO\u2019s alert and response co-ordination department, said.<\/p>\n

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The WHO might also recommend that some individuals with links to the outbreak take their temperature every day for a minimum of 42 days, because the Andes strain has a protracted incubation \u200bperiod, Anais Legand, WHO technical officer for viral threats, said at an internet briefing on Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the dynamics of this outbreak, based on \u2060the way it is spreading and never spreading amongst the people on the ship, the individuals who have disembarked, as well, we proceed to think about the chance as low for the final population,\u201d Legand said throughout the briefing.<\/p>\n

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National authorities might also be asked to establish regular \u200bcontact with those people, and provides them a phone number to call in the event that they feel in any respect unwell, she added.<\/p>\n

Passengers are being split into high-risk and low-risk contacts \u200cbased on \u2060their interactions with sick travellers, the WHO said. Contact tracing can also be key for anyone who has already left the ship.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWhat’s Spain’s plan for passengers?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

On Friday, the Spanish Health Ministry released its protocol plan for the passengers disembarking<\/a> from the MV Hondius.<\/p>\n

Spanish authorities are preparing to receive greater than 140 passengers and crew members on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands, where health officials have said they are going to perform careful evacuations.<\/p>\n

The vessel is predicted to achieve the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of West Africa, on Saturday or Sunday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey’ll arrive at a totally isolated, cordoned-off area,\u201d said Virginia Barcones, Spain\u2019s head of emergency services, on Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Public Health Commission approved the protocol for handling people disembarked from the ship with the aim of strengthening the protection of public health and ensuring a co-ordinated response throughout the territory.<\/p>\n

The protocol requires passengers and staff who were on the ship between April 1 and May 10 to quarantine at a Madrid military hospital under lively monitoring. This also includes anyone who had close contact with a confirmed case.<\/p>\n

\u201cPassengers will remain in single rooms without visitors,\u201d the health ministry said. \u201cDuring this era, they are going to undergo a PCR test upon arrival and one other seven days later. Energetic surveillance will even be conducted, including twice-daily temperature checks to detect any compatible symptoms early.\u201d<\/p>\n

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