by Jennyfer Ambe
A transatlantic cruise ship carrying roughly 150 passengers has become the center of a deadly health emergency after multiple people on board fell ill with suspected hantavirus. Hantavirus is a dangerous but uncommon rodent-borne illness. NBC News
Three people have died, including a Dutch couple and a German national. A British passenger remains in critical condition in a Johannesburg hospital, with five additional suspected cases under investigation. Cape Verde refused to allow the ship, the MV Hondius, to dock at its capital Praia, and the vessel is now expected to head to the Canary Islands. NBC News
So what is hantavirus? It is a group of viruses carried by wild rodents and passed to humans primarily through breathing in particles from contaminated droppings, urine, or saliva. Early symptoms resemble the flu: fatigue, fever, and aches. The virus can progress to cause severe breathing difficulties, organ failure, and in some cases, death. There is no vaccine or cure; treatment focuses entirely on managing symptoms and keeping patients stable. Euronews + 2
The WHO has urged the public not to panic, confirming the risk to the general population remains low and that no travel restrictions are needed. To put the scale in perspective, the WHO estimates that between 10,000 and 100,000 infections occur globally each year. The vast majority of these cases are in Asia and Europe which makes this Atlantic outbreak a rare event.
Sources: NBC News, WHO, CDC, CNN
Photo: Created using AI
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