Hantavirus outbreak raises alarm; Countries affected directly or indirectly so far

The World Health Organisation released the list of the nationals who were affected by the virus, prompting countries to take precautionary measures to curb its spread.

As the world speculates a pandemic-like situation, caused by alarm raised due to the Hantavirus cases reported on the MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship, many regions speculate the risk of this rodent-borne disease to a large population scale.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) released the list of citizens from various countries who were affected by the virus, prompting nations to take precautionary measures to curb its spread.

The BBC reported that WHO remained in touch with the authorities of 12 countries, to coordinate treatment efforts. Those countries include Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The confirmed cases of the virus, as reported by agencies, were listed in Germany, Switzerland, France, United States, Spain, Netherlands and Britain.

The ship left Argentina on April 1, where hantavirus is endemic, for a cruise across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Verde.

Three people have died, with two of those confirmed as having hantavirus and one probable case, the WHO said.

Among the living patients, seven cases have been confirmed and an eighth is listed as "probable", according to the WHO, the UN health body and health authorities of countries, reported agencies.

The WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday "our work is not over" to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship

He also said, "We expect more hantavirus cases as there was a lot of interaction among passengers before the infection was confirmed," in a recent statement.

Hantaviruses are a set of viruses carried by rodents that can cause severe illness and symptoms in humans, and in some cases can prove to be fatal. The Andes virus is a currently known hantavirus strain for which limited human‑to‑human transmission among contacts has been documented.