Overview
- WHO announced Thursday that the outbreak tied to the MS Hondius is over after no new cases were reported since May 25 and the final identified contact tested negative.
- Health authorities confirmed a total of 13 infections and three deaths, with most cases traced to an April cruise that began in Argentina.
- More than 650 contacts across roughly 30 countries were identified and monitored, and the U.S. CDC ended its measures after potentially affected citizens completed a 42-day observation period without infections.
- Investigators identified the virus as the South American Andes-type hantavirus, a strain known to rarely transmit between people, which prompted hospital-based quarantines and intensive contact tracing.
- WHO and national agencies will now emphasize international studies to improve diagnostics, treatments and vaccines and urge continued surveillance and rodent-exposure reduction in endemic areas.