After being briefed on the situation, Trump attempted to calm concerns with a six-word update: “It should be fine, we hope,” per Express.
The 79-year-old president also revealed US authorities are preparing to release a full report, adding: “A lot of great people are studying it.”
Hantavirus is a group of viruses carried by rodents, including mice and rats. It can spread through urine, droppings, saliva, contaminated surfaces, or, in rare cases, rodent bites.
According to the World Health Organisation, the virus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which affects the lungs, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, which impacts the kidneys.
Early symptoms can resemble flu before rapidly becoming life-threatening.
Global Response Underway As Countries Monitor Passengers
Health officials are now tracing around 150 passengers and crew members from 23 different countries who were onboard the cruise.
WHO confirmed it is coordinating with governments worldwide to monitor those who may have been exposed.
“In line with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, to ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored and that any further disease spread is limited,” the organisation said, per The Mirror.
Passengers onboard the cruise were from countries including the UK, USA, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Japan, Greece, Belgium, Ireland, Argentina, and New Zealand.
Crew members came from countries including the UK, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Portugal, Russia, India, Montenegro, and Guatemala.
WHO Addresses Fears of Another Pandemic
The growing outbreak has led to fears online that hantavirus could become another global pandemic similar to COVID-19.
However, WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove attempted to reassure the public while stressing the seriousness of the disease.
“This is not the next Covid, but it is a serious infectious disease. If people get infected, and infections are uncommon, they can die. People on the ship who are hearing this are very scared, rightly so,” she said.
“The general public might be scared as well. Accurate information is critical. Knowing what your actual exposure might be – most people will never be exposed to this,” Van Kerkhove added.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also warned that more cases could still emerge because of the incubation period associated with the Andes virus variant linked to the outbreak.
The WHO confirmed that two doctors, infectious disease experts from the agency, and officials from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have boarded the ship and are now conducting medical assessments on passengers and crew.
Cruise Ship Stranded Before Spain Agreed To Help
The MV Hondius had been travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde after setting sail on April 1.
The outbreak has been linked to a birdwatching expedition in Argentina that two passengers joined before boarding the cruise ship.
The vessel was stranded off the coast of Cape Verde for three days after authorities refused to allow it to dock.
Spain later agreed to accept the ship in the Canary Islands because it was considered the “closest location with the necessary capabilities.” However, Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo publicly opposed the move, saying: “I cannot allow [the boat] to enter the Canaries.”
The MV Hondius is expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife in the early hours of Sunday.