WHO recommends 42‑day quarantine for MV Hondius evacuees
Passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship, which experienced an outbreak of the Andes hantavirus, are recommended undergoing a 42-day quarantine, according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, TASS reports.
"Our advice is clear, starting from May 10, 42 days (of quarantine) with active follow-up," the official said at a briefing following the first day of the evacuation of passengers from the MV Hondius, which moored in the Canary Islands.
Ghebreyesus noted that the WHO provides, but does not impose, its recommendations on member countries.
The cruise liner with about 150 passengers, mostly US, British, Spanish, and Dutch nationals, sailed off from Argentina’s Ushuaia three weeks ago and was heading to the Canary Islands. The ship made several stopovers near islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses which can cause serious, even fatal illnesses, such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). People can catch hantavirus from contact with rodents, especially when exposed to their urine, droppings, and saliva.
Earlier, it was reported that British soldiers had parachuted onto the remote island of Tristan da Cunha to rescue a British citizen suspected of being infected with hantavirus.