World Health Organization officials said a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is not the start of a new pandemic.
The announcement aims to prevent global alarm by distinguishing this localized cluster from the respiratory virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the virus is not SARS-CoV-2 and remains confined to a single vessel, health officials believe the risk to the general public is low.
The outbreak occurred aboard a cruise ship sailing off the coast of Cape Verde [1]. The WHO has reported eight cases of hantavirus [2].
Maria Van Kerkhove, the Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Prevention, addressed the situation on Thursday, May 7 [1]. "This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID-19 pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship," Van Kerkhove said [1].
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the organization is monitoring the spread of the virus. He said that while the number of cases could rise, the event does not signal a global health emergency [1].
"Contact-tracing efforts are ongoing and while more cases may be reported, this is not the start of another pandemic," Ghebreyesus said [1].
Health officials continue to monitor the passengers and crew of the vessel. The current focus remains on containment and tracing the origin of the virus to ensure it does not spread beyond the ship's perimeter [1].
“This is not the start of a COVID-19 pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship.”
The WHO's rapid clarification serves to decouple the current hantavirus cluster from the trauma of the 2020 pandemic. By explicitly stating the virus is not SARS-CoV-2, the organization is managing public perception to prevent panic while maintaining standard epidemiological surveillance on a localized zoonotic event.
