There could be more cases, incubation period is 6 weeks: WHO on hantavirus

What began as a seemingly unexplained respiratory illness aboard a luxury expedition cruise ship has now evolved into an international public health investigation spanning multiple countries, three deaths and fears of rare human-to-human hantavirus transmission.

Addressing the media during a press conference on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the overall public health risk linked to the outbreak aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius remains low.

But officials also warned that more cases could still emerge because hantavirus can have an incubation period of up to six weeks.

The outbreak has already prompted international tracing efforts involving passengers from 12 countries.

During Wednesday?s press briefing, WHO officials repeatedly stressed that the current public



health risk remains ?minimal.? At present, none of the remaining passengers onboard are symptomatic, officials said.

However, the concern lies in the long incubation period associated with hantavirus infections. Symptoms can appear several weeks after exposure, meaning health authorities are continuing to monitor passengers who may already have travelled internationally after disembarking.

?More cases could still be reported,? WHO officials said, while emphasising that there are established public health measures available to contain further spread.

WHO has now informed 12 countries whose nationals had disembarked earlier in Saint Helena. Those countries include Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Trkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.