Hantavirus alert on cruise ship MV Hondius: India closely monitoring situation

The Union Health Ministry is closely monitoring the evolving situation relating to reported cases of hantavirus infection onboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, sources privy to the developments in the Central government told ANI.

They said that a close eye was being kept on the developing situation in coordination with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), World Health Organization (WHO), and other international health authorities

They said, “As stated by a senior health ministry official, as per preliminary information shared through WHO under the International Health Regulations (IHR) framework, a total of eight probable cases of hantavirus infection have been reported onboard the vessel, of which five cases have been laboratory confirmed. Three deaths have also been reported. WHO was notified of the incident in the first week of this month.”

Meanwhile, health ministry sources have informed that two Indian nationals are currently onboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius. Multiple probable cases of hantavirus infection have been reported on the cruise. The ministry sources said that the Indian nationals are asymptomatic and under observation.

As of the threat of the cases being in India, Dr Naveen Kumar, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV) said that there is no pandemic threat in India.

"At present, the reported infections among Indian nationals aboard a cruise ship appear to be isolated imported cases and do not indicate community spread in India. Since hantavirus transmission is primarily rodent-borne and not easily spread between humans, the immediate public health risk remains low," he said.

Explaining the transmission pattern of hantavirus, he said, “Hantaviruses are mainly transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their excreta, i.e. saliva, urine and faeces. People usually get infected by inhaling aerosolised virus particles from rodent urine, droppings, or saliva in closed or poorly ventilated spaces such as warehouses, ships, barns, and storage areas. Rodent bites can also rarely transmit infection.”

“Unlike COVID-19, human-to-human transmission is extremely uncommon. Most hantaviruses, especially those reported in Asia and Europe, do not spread between humans. Limited person-to-person transmission has only been documented with some South American strains such as the Andes virus,” he said.

Symptoms of hantavirus

The main symptoms are fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and there may be muscular pain, joint pain. There may be symptoms related to the lungs, pulmonary symptoms, there may be symptoms related to the kidneys.

(With agency inputs)