Two weeks ago, Andes Hantavirus dominated headlines: rare person-to-person transmission, cruise ship cluster hitting multiple countries, 3 deaths, and a French woman in critical condition on artificial lung in Paris.
No major new updates, but the virus is still out there.
The French patient remains a big unknown. This strain spreads between people, something most hantaviruses don’t do.
Why the quiet?
Ebola grabbed the spotlight with its PHEIC declaration.
Media chases the loudest emergency and moves on. But Hantavirus has real threat.
Contained for now, but quietly building.
#hantavirus
[The Portuguese crew that flew the Canadians home from Tenerife are not happy.]
➡️ 🇵🇹🇨🇦 Portuguese air crew transports passenger positive for Hantavirus
- Crew complained of “insecurity” on board repatriation flight
= News today that the repatriation flight from Tenerife to Canada of passengers from the Hantavirus-stricken cruise-ship was carrying at least one person positive for the potentially deadly virus will have increased the anxiety already voiced by the Portuguese crew that has complained it felt ‘insecure’ carrying out the flight.
- According to the DGS (Portugal’s general health directorate): “at the moment, there is no evidence of secondary transmission associated with this flight, nor indication of increased risk for the Portuguese population.”
- The words that stand out here being “at the moment”.
- ➡️The Canadian citizen in question ➡️ started showing symptoms of the virus four days after the repatriation flight (effected on Sunday, May 10) – by which time the crew that transported him and four other fellow nationals home to Canada will have returned to their daily routines (and very possibly travelled to other countries, as part of their work).
= ➡️ The crew, which entered an official complaint over the way they were seconded into the repatriation flight, included nine cabin staff and three pilots.
- At the time of the complaint, EuroAtlantic – the airline operating the repatriation flight – stated that the five passengers repatriated from Tenerife “were not infected” and that the aircraft was disinfected after landing in Canada.
= ➡️ The airline also said that the protection given to the Portuguese crew: ➡️ surgical masks and gloves, was sufficient – and that “all security measures were complied with”.
This particular outbreak of Hantavirus – which turned the cruise of the MV Honduis into a global news story – has already led to the deaths of three people, with eight confirmed cases of infection. The virus can take up to six weeks to incubate before people start showing symptoms, thus the concern that this news story may not be over.
By Natasha Donn
https://t.co/z6TmSTTm56
Rat virus survivor reveals horrifying long term effects from hantavirus after she ended up in coma, lost 10 days of her life and had to relearn to walk again https://t.co/0ojJGHwQb2