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WHO chief says hantavirus outbreak not like start of Covid
Geneva, The WHO chief told AFP on Wednesday he did not believe a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, which has sparked international alarm, has similarities with the start of the Covid pandemic.The MV Hondius cruise ship has been at the centre of an international alert since Saturday, when the World Health Organization was informed that three passengers had died amid suspicions of a hantavirus outbreak aboard.The rare disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva, but the Andes strain, which has now been confirmed in three cases, is transmissible between humans.Speaking to AFP at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, the UN health agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus downplayed the danger, insisting that "the risk to the rest of the world is low".And when asked if the WHO saw similarities with the emergency at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, he said: "No, I don't think so".While there had been "multiple meetings to coordinate our partners and to respond", he said that so far he did not see the need to call an emergency committee meeting on the hantavirus situation.Popular in InternationalNonetheless, Tedros described a scramble to respond, and in particular to ensure the evacuation of three people believed to be infected with the virus from the cruise ship, which has been anchored off Cape Verde since Sunday."Three of the patients have been evacuated just a couple of hours ago," Tedros said, acknowledging that his team had had "a bit of a sleepless night because we have been preparing for this evacuation".The three are on their way to the Netherlands while the Hondius is expected to soon set sail for Spain's Canary Islands."From there, of course the rest of the passengers will move to their respective countries," he said.The WHO chief said medics had joined the ship, including staff from his agency, adding that "we will continue to monitor and support the people in the ship, and also monitor the situation outside"."We're trying to do our best."
WHO chief says Hantavirus outbreak 'is not COVID' - Al Jazeera
Skip linksSkip to Content Live Navigation menuNewsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionSportVideoFeaturesEconomyHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravel Live Navigation menuTrendingUS-Israel war on IranTracking Israel's ceasefire violationsDonald TrumpRussia-Ukraine warWHO chief says Hantavirus outbreak ‘is not COVID’NewsFeedWHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told Tenerife residents that the docking of a cruise ship hit by a Hantavirus outbreak does not pose the risk of triggering a Covid-like pandemic.Published On 9 May 2026
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Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship not 'another COVID', WHO says
A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean poses a low global public health risk and is "not the start of another COVID pandemic", the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
