“It’s not the beginning of an epidemic. It’s not the beginning of a pandemic,” Van Kerkhove told reporters. “This is not covid,” she added.
The covid-19 disease that Van Kerkhove spoke about is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The infection was first detected at the end of 2019 in China, from where it quickly spread throughout the world and led to the death of millions of people. In an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease, governments introduced strict quarantine measures.
The WHO had previously stated that the risk to the general public was low following reports of the spread of hantavirus on a vessel that had sailed from South America and was now heading to the Spanish Canary Islands. The regional representative of the World Health Organization for Europe, Hans Kluge, said, among other things, that there is no reason to panic or to introduce travel restrictions.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday, according to AFP, that out of eight cases of possible infection, including three deaths, hantavirus infection has been confirmed in the laboratory so far in five people, while the other three are suspected.
“The strain of hantavirus in this case is the Andes, which occurs in South America,” he said. This strain of hantavirus is spread by contact between people. The incubation period is up to six months. “It is possible that more cases may be reported,” added the head of the WHO.
Hantavirus
- It occurs naturally in rodents and can cause serious illness in humans. Infection can lead to two main types of disease: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) a hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
- Humans become infected through infected rodents, especially mice and rats. Either inhales aerosols containing particles of urine, feces or saliva of rodents, or by direct contact with infected material, biting or consuming contaminated food or water.
- Transmission from person to person is rareoccurs in the type of hantavirus referred to as Andes virus.
- Mortality varies according to the specific type of virus. But it reaches up to 50 percent. These deadly types are however extremely rare.
- Infection can lead to pulmonary syndrome. It occurs mainly in North and South America and is very serious. The symptoms are similar to the flu at first, the person suffers fever, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Cough and shortness of breath are added later, which can lead to lung failure.
- Another possibility is hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. It is more common in Europe and Asia. Symptoms include sudden fever, chills and headaches, low blood pressure, .
- The mortality rate of HFRS varies according to the type of virus – for the Hantaan type it is 5 to 10 percentin the Puumala type and Seoul is 1 percent.
- There is no specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus.
