Hantavirus Spreads: Number of Infected Increases with New Data

The outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship remains in the focus of global health authorities. The infection has been confirmed in eight individuals aboard the ship that arrived in Tenerife, three of whom have died. Another passenger has been transferred in critical condition to a hospital in Johannesburg.

The epidemiological situation is further complicated by the potential airborne transmission of the virus. In Italy, the number of suspected cases has reached six, linked to flights from Buenos Aires and Johannesburg.

The Italian Ministry of Health has reported that a British citizen who is considered a contact of an infected person has been isolated in Milan. He traveled on the same flight as the wife of the first patient. Currently, biological samples from individuals exhibiting suspicious symptoms are being examined at the Spallanzani Institute in Rome.

Experts are checking data from both tourists arriving from Argentina and local residents who have pneumonia-like symptoms.

Gennady Oniщenko, an academician at the Russian Academy of Sciences and an epidemiologist, explained that hantavirus is associated with severe infections and is characterized by high transmissibility. According to the expert, natural foci of the infection also exist within Russian territory, with rodents such as mice and hamsters being the primary transmitters.

He assured that specialists are well acquainted with this pathogen and are conducting constant monitoring to prevent its widespread transmission.