The World Health Organisation will hold a media briefing on Thursday at 6:30 pm IST in response to a deadly hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius. Three people have died so far, and several others are receiving treatment, as per the WHO.
The ship sailed from Argentina and was en route to the Canary Islands, before it was halted off the coast of West Africa at Cape Verde. The WHO said eight cases linked to the outbreak have now been identified. This includes three infections confirmed through laboratory testing.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency would provide updates through its official platforms later today.
- The UN agency also said Argentina’s national laboratory network and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal were helping in the investigation and response.
- Argentina is consistently ranked by the WHO as having the highest incidence of hantavirus in Latin America. Officials and researchers are now investigating whether the outbreak onboard the cruise ship may have originated in the country before the vessel departed for Antarctica.
- WHO said it will continue coordinating with affected countries to support testing, passenger monitoring, medical treatment and efforts to prevent further spread of the virus.
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters and AP)
