The Indian Embassy in Spain on Sunday confirmed that two Indian crew members aboard the hantavirus-affected Dutch cruise vessel MV Hondius are healthy and asymptomatic. They have been evacuated to the Netherlands for quarantine under health safety protocols, the embassy stated.
Details of the Incident
The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying around 150 people including two Indian nationals, arrived in Spain after anchoring off the Canary Islands due to a hantavirus outbreak onboard. The embassy emphasized that the Indian nationals are in good health and show no symptoms. According to the Spanish National Center for Emergency Monitoring and Coordination (CENEM), the two Indian crew members were evacuated to the Netherlands, where they will undergo quarantine as per relevant health safety protocols.
Embassy's Response
The Indian Ambassador has maintained close contact with Spanish authorities and the Indian nationals, regularly monitoring the situation to ensure their safety and well-being. Passengers disembarked following protocols established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Spanish authorities.
WHO's Advisory
The WHO issued a technical note on the disembarkation and management of passengers and crew linked to the outbreak. It advised member states to implement a risk-based approach for identifying, monitoring, and managing contacts of probable or confirmed Andes virus (ANDV) cases from the MV Hondius. ANDV has been associated with limited human-to-human transmission, typically through close and prolonged contact. As of May 8, eight hantavirus cases, including three deaths, were reported, with six laboratory-confirmed as Andes virus infections.
Health Experts' Assessment
In India, health experts sought to allay concerns about the outbreak involving the two Indian crew members. Dr. Naveen Kumar, Director of the ICMR-National Institute of Virology in Pune, stated that the cases are isolated imported infections and do not indicate community spread in India. He noted that hantavirus transmission is primarily rodent-borne and not easily transmitted between humans, so the immediate public health risk remains low. Dr. Kumar also highlighted that human-to-human transmission of hantavirus is extremely rare.
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