90-Second Read: No sign of larger Hantavirus outbreak, says UN health agency

There is "no sign" of a larger Hantavirus outbreak after the evacuation of the last passengers from a disease-stricken cruise ship, the head of the UN health agency has said. Hantaviruses are usually carried by rodents, but human transmission of the Andes strain, which the World Health Organization (WHO) believes some of the ship's passengers contracted in South America, is possible. Spain's health ministry earlier said one Spaniard who is quarantining in Madrid after being evacuated from the vessel had also provisionally tested positive for Hantavirus on Monday. The situation could still change and there might be more confirmed cases, warns the head of the World Health Organization. But the World Health Organization's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned "the situation could change" and there could still be more confirmed virus.

At Tuesday's press conference in Madrid, Ghebreyesus said: "At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak. But of course the situation could change and, given the long incubation period of the virus, it's possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks." And he stressed that "our work is not over" to contain the outbreak from the cruise ship. In a separate development, the US health department said a second American national on Sunday's repatriation flight had also shown mild symptoms, adding that both passengers had travelled back in "biocontainment units out of an abundance of caution". Two flights with the final group of 28 passengers landed in nearby Eindhoven on Tuesday. Twelve employees at a Dutch hospital are now.

WHO officials previously said the risk of a major outbreak is very low. As of Monday evening, Oceanwide Expeditions said 27 people remained on board the ship, 25 crew members and two medical staff. French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said a woman was isolating in Paris and that her health was deteriorating, with 22 contacts being traced. He had earlier developed symptoms and is believed to have been the first infected in the outbreak, but died before he could be tested. The MV Hondius left Spain's Tenerife island on Monday and is sailing to the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

The final six passengers, four Australians, one Briton and one New Zealander, and some crew members left the ship on Monday. Two British nationals with confirmed cases are currently being treated in the Netherlands and South Africa. Symptoms can include fever, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. The Dutch-flagged vessel is expected to take six days to sail to Rotterdam and provisionally arrive on the evening of 17 May. Overall, 122 passengers and crew of the MV Hondius have been repatriated to the Netherlands and their home countries on government-chartered flights over the past few days.