S003-SUIZA OMS SOBRE RIESGO HANTAVIRUS

The risk of hantavirus spreading to the general population is "absolutely low", despite the virus is dangerous to the people who infected with it, said World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Christian Lindmeier on Friday.

"This is not COVID" and its risk to the general population remains "absolutely low," Lindmeier told a press briefing in Geneva, as the agency continues to coordinate the response to the outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic.

"I need to stress again and again, even those who have been sharing cabins don't seem to be both infected in some cases, so the risk remains absolutely low. Let's not forget from couples who were close from a flight attendant who handled the sick woman who just shortly after died and was feeling extremely unwell, we get negative test results. That should convince nearly everybody now that this is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who is really infected. And the risk to the general population remains absolutely low," he said.

Lindmeier said the WHO had activated its response to the hantavirus outbreak under the International Health Regulations.

According to Lindmeier, apart from the involved cruise ship, contact tracing efforts are continuing, and the WHO is working closely with national health authorities in multiple countries and institutions including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in this regard.

Three people have died and several others have fallen ill aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, prompting a major international public health response involving countries across Europe, Africa and Latin America.