The hantavirus outbreak that erupted last April in a cruise that departed from Argentina, the MV Hondius, is now controlled as more than 80% of potential contacts with the virus, passengers or crew of the Dutch cruise ship, have completed the recommended quarantine of 42 days after exposure.
On Monday, all 18 residents from the United States that were aboard the MV Hondius had returned home after spending nearly six weeks at the National Quarantine Unit in Nebraska. "No cases of hantavirus disease occurred in the United States as a result of this outbreak" , said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All quarantine cases in Spain for passengers and crew also concluded last weekend with no new infections since the ship docked in the Canary Islands on May 10 and most passengers from most countries disembarked, confirmed Ángel Víctor Torres, Minister of Territorial Policy in Spain.
On Tuesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said that we're "closing in on ending this outbreak", and said that the captain of the ship and most of the crew have already completed quarantine. And the contacts of those who got sick, over 600 people across 33 countries and territories, have been tracked with no new cases beyond the 13 initially reported, which resulted in three deaths.
"Deep appreciation to Spain, the Netherlands, Cabo Verde, South Africa, and the UK for their critical role in the response", said Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
