WHO says 12th person infected with hantavirus detected in the Netherlands

WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged all countries to monitor passengers who were on the MV Hondius cruise ship.The World Health Organization has urged countries to continue monitoring passengers for hantavirus after a case was detected among a Dutch crew member of the ship at the centre of the outbreak.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief, told a news conference in Geneva on Friday that he urges all countries to monitor the passengers who were on board the MV Hondius cruise ship and “move carefully for the remainder of the quarantine period”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3WHO confirms 10 global hantavirus cases, Hondius crew remain symptom-freelist 2 of 3The Take: hantavirus – How scared should we be?list 3 of 3Hantavirus: how scared should we be?end of listTedros said a Dutch crew member had tested positive and was now in isolation, taking the total positive cases to 12.So far, three people have died due to the virus.Tedros reiterated that no deaths have been reported since May 2, when the outbreak was first reported to the WHO.“More than 600 contacts continue to be followed in 30 countries, and a small number of high-risk contacts are still being located,” he added.Dutch authorities also confirmed that the infected crew member had been taken to hospital.“The Andes virus has been detected in one person who was in quarantine in the Netherlands. The patient has since been admitted to the hospital as a precaution and is in isolation,” said the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).“The RIVM understands that this news may raise questions or concerns. However, the chance of further spread in the Netherlands remains very small,” the statement said.According to the RIVM, everyone who had evacuated from the Dutch-flagged ship to the Netherlands is tested every week, and two separate laboratories confirmed the positive test.