Asia faces low hantavirus risk as Singapore isolates 2 from cruise over cases

The risk of a hantavirus outbreak in Asia remains minimal, according to health experts, despite two Singapore residents returning home from a cruise ship where three people died from the infection that triggered a regional panic. Hantaviruses are a family of rat-carried viruses that can infect humans through direct exposure, even though transmission between people is extremely rare. The virus takes its name from South Korea’s Hantan River, where an early strain was identified after outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever among soldiers during the Korean war. The virus can incubate for several weeks without symptoms before making the carrier dangerously ill. The latest cases have put public health authorities across Asia on guard. Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said two men on board the MV Hondius vessel – a 67-year-old Singaporean and a 65-year-old Singapore permanent resident – returned home on Saturday and Wednesday, respectively, and had been tested and isolated in the city state. “The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low,” the CDA said on Thursday. Both men were being monitored at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, where they were tested for the infection. One had a runny nose but was otherwise well, while the other was asymptomatic. Should both test negative for hantavirus, they would remain in quarantine for 30 days from the date of last exposure and be monitored for a further 15 days via phone surveillance – covering the maximum incubation period for hantavirus, the CDA said. The Singapore cases have raised concerns in Asia about the passengers’ recent travel history before the outbreak was confirmed, given that the virus can have a long incubation period. Other parts of Asia are also on high alert, with Hong Kong authorities seeking more information from the World Health Organization on the outbreak while ramping up efforts to prevent the virus from reaching the city. Health experts say hantavirus is almost always transmitted from rodents to humans and rarely between people. “The pandemic risk is almost zero. This is very different from Covid,” said Dr Venu Gopalan, a Kuala Lumpur-based doctor and public health expert, adding that the level of concern was “minimal”. The WHO has offered similar reassurances over the hantavirus cases. “WHO currently assesses the risk to the global population from this event as low and will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation and update the risk assessment,” it said in a statement on Monday. In an update on Thursday, the WHO said eight hantavirus cases had been reported so far, including three deaths. The MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise vessel, departed the Argentinian port of Ushuaia on April 1 with 147 passengers and crew on board. It was scheduled to make several stops, including Antarctica and a number of islands in the South Atlantic. According to WHO, the first detected case was a 70-year-old Dutch national who developed fever, headache and mild diarrhoea on April 6. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on April 11. His body was taken off the vessel at St Helena on April 24. Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise organiser, said 30 passengers and crew disembarked at St Helen on April 24. Among them was a woman believed to be the man’s wife, who went ashore with gastrointestinal symptoms. Her condition worsened during a flight to Johannesburg on April 25 and she died the following day after arriving at a South African hospital’s emergency department. The couple had travelled in South America, including Argentina, before boarding the ship. On April 28, another woman passenger developed pneumonia and fever. She died on May 2 aboard the ship. A fourth passenger with symptoms was evacuated from Ascension Island on April 27 to South Africa, where he was placed in intensive care. Dr Khoo Yoong Khean, an assistant professor at Duke-NUS Medical School, said the risk of hantavirus spreading to Asia from the MV Hondius cluster remained low. “It’s low risk since the cruise ship is not docking in Asia and already authorities are conducting outbreak investigation and control,” he said. Risks could still arise at points of entry, but Asian cruise ports have surveillance and diagnostic systems to detect potential imported cases, according to Dr Khoo. The MV Hondius outbreak likely involved the Andes hantavirus strain, which is associated with South America and differs from strains found in Asia, according to health experts. Asian hantavirus cases typically manifested as kidney-related illnesses, while the Andes strain was associated with lung and heart complications, Dr Khoo said. When you have rodent infestation, this is where the risk comes in Venu Gopalan, Kuala Lumpur-based public health expert “It [the Andes strain] presents itself as a pulmonary syndrome, where a patient’s lungs begin to be affected, and fluid accumulates in the lungs, and it can get quite serious,” Dr Venu said. “The other [Asian strain] is a renal infection, with haemorrhagic symptoms and renal impairment.” Early symptoms of hantavirus can resemble common viral illnesses – fever, muscle aches, headaches and body aches – before more severe symptoms emerge. Dr Venu urged health and other authorities to boost hygiene and rodent control on board cruise ships and other confined travel settings. “When you have rodent infestation, this is where the risk comes in,” he said.

Asia faces low hantavirus risk as Singapore isolates 2 from cruise over cases

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Eight hantavirus cases linked to the cruise have been reported so far, including three deaths, the WHO says

Eight hantavirus cases linked to the cruise have been reported so far, including three deaths, the WHO says