The World Health Organization has warned of a possible increase in hantavirus cases, while authorities in the Netherlands have reported two new confirmed diagnoses, BBC News reported.
«Five hantavirus cases have been confirmed, and three more are under investigation, including the deceased passengers of the cruise ship,» WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
«Given the incubation period of the Andes virus strain — the variant confirmed in the cruise ship passengers — which can last up to six weeks, there may be more cases of the disease,» he told journalists.
Shortly after his statement, it became known that two more people evacuated from the cruise ship MV Hondius had tested positive for hantavirus in the Netherlands.
«This is not the beginning of a pandemic,» said WHO Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Maria Van Kerkhove. According to the organization, there is no reason for panic, and the situation differs from what the world experienced six years ago during the coronavirus pandemic.
