By Joke Kujenya
CONCERN OVER a hantavirus outbreak linked to the expedition cruise vessel MV Hondius has spread across social media following the deaths of three passengers and several reported illnesses during a voyage across the Atlantic.
JKNewsMedia.com reports the World Health Organization (WHO) saying that the outbreak most likely did not originate on the ship.
It notes that the first confirmed case involved a 70-year-old Dutch passenger who developed fever, headache and diarrhoea on April 6 before dying from respiratory distress on April 11.
WHO official Anais Legand stated that the incubation period for hantavirus usually lasts between two and three weeks, indicating the passenger was likely infected before boarding the vessel.
Investigations by WHO suggest the man and his partner may have been exposed while bird watching near a landfill in Argentina, an area associated with infected rodent populations.
Also, eight cases had been identified by early May, including laboratory confirmed infections involving the Dutch couple and a German passenger.
It says that the ship travelled from Cape Verde toward Spain’s Canary Islands, while authorities also traced cases to Switzerland after a former passenger sought medical treatment there.
Health authorities said they are also investigating whether the Andes strain of the virus, known for limited human to human transmission, played a role in the infections.
Even medical experts stressed that hantavirus differs significantly from coronavirus infections.
They said the disease has been studied for decades and is mainly transmitted from rodents to humans rather than through widespread airborne droplets.
Resident doctor, Godwin Ekweke, added that the risk profile was not comparable to COVID 19 because hantavirus generally requires direct environmental exposure instead of casual community transmission.
The virus is commonly spread when people inhale dust contaminated with the urine, saliva or droppings of infected rodents.
Its symptoms often begin with general weakness, muscle pain and abdominal discomfort.
Also, severe cases in the Americas note it can progress into Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a condition in which fluid fills the lungs. In other regions, infections may cause kidney complications.
Another medical doctor, Chukwudi Ifeanyi, also said the confined cruise ship environment and the older age of passengers made the outbreak appear more alarming.
He added that prevention depends on environmental hygiene, rodent control and proper food storage rather than lockdown measures linked to respiratory pandemics.
However, Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed hantavirus cases.
Yet, infectious disease specialists noted that surveillance systems established for Lassa fever already support monitoring for rodent borne diseases.
Although the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has not released a formal statement on the cruise ship outbreak, expert Gbenga Owu said Nigeria’s laboratory capacity and emergency coordination have improved following lessons from Ebola and COVID 19 outbreaks.
Experts advised healthcare workers to remain alert because hantavirus symptoms resemble several tropical illnesses.
They also urged the public to maintain sanitation by keeping homes free of rodents, disposing of waste properly and wearing protective gear while cleaning abandoned dusty spaces where rodents may have nested.
Meanwhile, the WHO has not declared an international emergency over the outbreak.
But health agencies said they are monitoring close contacts of infected individuals while experts, including Yusuf Bello, called for “calm vigilance” as authorities continue surveillance efforts.
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