90-Second Read: Should Arab region worry about the Hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks?

DUBAI: Governments across the Arab region are on alert for the potential spread of Hantavirus and Ebola following recent international cases, although no infections have been recorded in the region to date. UAE authorities also said the country's surveillance and response systems remained fully prepared to handle emerging health threats, including both Hantavirus and Ebola, with frameworks regularly reviewed in line with international standards. The Hantavirus cases have been linked to the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which set sail from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 on a transatlantic journey across the South Atlantic, carrying 147 passengers and crew. Saudi Arabia's Public Health Authority, known as Weqaya, said it was closely tracking reports of Hantavirus infections abroad, while emphasizing that the risk of the virus reaching the Kingdom remained very low.

According to the latest WHO statement on Wednesday, the virus has spread across parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda with nearly 600 suspected cases and more than 130 suspected deaths reported so far, while confirmed infections continue to rise. Families are being advised to avoid contact with the bodies of suspected victims, one of the most common routes of transmission during Ebola outbreaks, with hundreds of households already reached through initial response efforts. In the case of the Hantavirus, environmental conditions further reduced the likelihood of the virus taking hold locally, she added. The authority said it was coordinating with international health bodies and monitoring developments as part of ongoing precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, Bahrain and Jordan have introduced precautionary travel measures targeting arrivals from Ebola-affected countries, including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda, following updated warnings from the World Health Organization. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, one of the most severe forms of the disease, has a fatality rate of around 40 percent, highlighting the importance of early detection and coordinated response. Health officials say outbreaks typically begin with a "spillover" event, where the virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans before spreading through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals. There is no specific antiviral cure for most Hantavirus infections, so treatment is mainly supportive and focused on managing symptoms and complications.

The ship reached its final port this week, marking the start of a critical monitoring period for passengers, many of whom are now entering the window in which symptoms are most likely to appear, according to infectious disease experts. Early detection is extremely important because Hantavirus can worsen very quickly, especially Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director general, said he was "deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic," particularly as cases had been detected in densely populated and conflict-affected areas where containment was more challenging.