Hantavirus Update: "This is Not Another COVID" Says WHO Chief In Message To Worried Tenerife Residents

As the cruise ship linked to the hantavirus outbreak is now approaching the coast near Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, local residents are worried about the risk of an outbreak on land. Health authorities have said that the overall danger to the general public is low so far. Now, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has sent a direct message to the people of the island.

The ship, MV Hondius, was sailing from South America to the Canary Islands when several passengers fell ill. WHO said eight cases have been reported so far, including confirmed and suspected infections. Three people have died in the outbreak. The ship was rerouted to Tenerife so that medical teams could safely manage the sick and limit the risk of spreading the virus.

Hantavirus is serious and can cause breathing problems, low blood pressure, and sometimes kidney failure. However, it does not spread as easily from one person to another like COVID-19, measles and others. Experts say it mainly spreads through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, or through close, prolonged contact with very sick people in hospitals, not through normal daily contact.

Also read: What Is Hantavirus? This Is Where It Got Its Name From

How Are Passengers And Crew Being Handled?

Spanish and international health teams are planning to keep everyone on board strictly isolated until they can be safely evacuated to medical facilities. All passengers and crew will be screened, tested, and, if needed, treated in controlled hospital settings far from crowded areas.

WHO has sent an expert onto the ship to monitor the health of everyone on board and to help plan the evacuation. According to Dr. Tedros, there are currently no symptomatic people on the ship showing signs of hantavirus and the risk of the virus spreading to the community is considered very low.

Why Are People In Tenerife Worried?

Many residents on Tenerife remember the fear and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and are anxious. Protests have taken place near the planned docking area.

According to a report in BBC, Joana Batista, of a local port workers' union, who was taking part, said, "We're unhappy at the idea of being allowed to work in a port without special safety measures or information when an infected boat is approaching."

She added, "If the boat is going to stop here, then it can do so, but with the necessary measures in place. Local people need to be told how this will affect them, how the passengers will be transported. We need reassurance above all."

Also read: Hantavirus Cruise Ship Passengers To Evacuate At Canary Islands Soon: WHO Shares Screening, Contact Tracing Plans

Reassurance From WHO

In a special message addressed to the people of Tenerife, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "This is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now.

"The virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families. The risk to you, living your daily life in Tenerife, is low. This is the WHO's assessment, and we do not make it lightly."

Tedros explained that passengers and crew will not be allowed to walk into town or mingle with locals. Medical teams will handle transfers in secure and controlled conditions. He also promised that WHO will keep the public and health authorities updated, and that the situation is being monitored closely.

In his message, he said, "Right now, there are no symptomatic passengers on board. A WHO expert is on that ship. Medical supplies are in place. Spain's authorities have prepared a careful, step-by-step plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries. You will not encounter them. Your families will not encounter them."

Read more: "Outbreak Can Be Contained": Dr Soumya Swaminathan On Hantavirus Crisis

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