3 people evacuated from cruise ship impacted by hantavirus outbreak

0:00 Okay, we have an update about the deadly hantavirus outbreak.

0:03 The World Health Organization says three people with possible

0:06 symptoms of the disease were removed from the cruise

0:09 ship where the virus outbreak started and they're

0:11 now on their way to the Netherlands for treatment.

0:14 Now, there's also been some confusion about

0:16 how passengers on the ship were handled.

0:19 There was a request for the vessel to dock

0:21 in space in Spain's Canary Islands for a full investigation,

0:25 but the leader of the islands rejected

0:27 the plan demanding a meeting with Spain's prime minister.

0:31 Let's bring in CBS News correspondent Tom Hanson.

0:34 Hey Tom, so what's going on with the ship at this hour

0:37 and with the rest of the passengers and the crew?

0:41 Hey there Mugo.

0:42 Well, yeah, this is subject to much debate between

0:44 the government of Spain and the leadership in the Canary Islands.

0:48 What we do know now is just moments ago the the ship

0:50 actually did begin to move off the coast of Cape Verde.

0:53 So, it is headed in the general direction of the Canary Islands.

0:57 We're told Tenerife is the target there,

0:59 but understandably a lot of people on the ground they're

1:01 very concerned about any potential for transmission to the population there.

1:06 Now, health experts have assured the public

1:09 that they are going to keep the people

1:11 who are on the ship once they disembark um separated from the general public.

1:15 They are going to going to undergo a medical evaluation

1:19 uh to see if they are presenting any sorts of symptoms.

1:22 We're told by the WHO by the way that because

1:25 of the long incubation period of the hantavirus which can stretch

1:28 up to eight weeks for people to actually show symptoms

1:32 that if people are unwell when they get off the boat,

1:36 they will be quarantined for up to two months.

1:39 So, for those people who are breathing a sigh of relief on that ship,

1:43 uh they're not quite out of the woods just yet.

1:46 But, you know, we are also monitoring a number of other things.

1:49 The WHO came out yesterday and said that they were urging people who

1:52 were on a specific flight uh that was along the ship route St.

1:56 Helena to Johannesburg,

1:58 to monitor themselves for any sort of illness or any sort

2:02 of conditions um that could be uh attached to the hantavirus.

2:06 So, there is a flight that is being monitored as well by the WHO

2:09 in addition to the contact tracing that is

2:12 already being done in Africa and in Europe.

2:16 WHO certainly has its hands full with this one,

2:19 but they urge the public not to be overly concerned about this.

2:23 And this is something that can't be overstated, Mugo.

2:25 This is a difficult disease to spread.

2:27 This is not a pandemic-causing disease, as our Dr.

2:31 Celine Gounder put it yesterday.

2:33 That's because typically this disease is spread through

2:36 close uh exposure to DNA matter from rats.

2:40 We're talking urine, we're talking fecal matter, we're talking saliva,

2:43 and the dust particles that can kick up um from that kind of DNA.

2:48 There are very few strains um that transmit from person to person.

2:52 Unfortunately, that is the strain that they have concluded,

2:55 um the Andes strain, uh which can transmit from person to person.

2:59 But they want to urge the public not to be overly concerned

3:02 with this because even with that strain that transmits from person to person,

3:06 it has to be with prolonged exposure to someone who is carrying the virus.

3:12 So, that's very close contact for a long period

3:15 of time with someone who is who is infected.

3:19 Um generally speaking, that is not a huge concern for another

3:23 global pandemic like we saw with COVID-19, Mugo.

3:26 Yeah, very important to distinguish that with COVID.

3:29 Um Tom, we're also hearing about a new hantavirus case in Switzerland.

3:33 What can you tell us about that?

3:36 Yeah, absolutely.

3:37 Well, I want to pull up a statement from the Swiss Office of Public Health.

3:40 One person with a hantavirus infection is

3:43 currently being treated at the University Hospital Zurich.

3:47 Uh the patient is male and returned

3:49 to Switzerland after traveling on that cruise ship.

3:52 So, this person was clearly evacuated from the cruise ship,

3:55 but this is a case that is still tied

3:58 to that suspected outbreak of the hantavirus on that cruise ship.

4:02 This is not a new case that has popped up in Switzerland

4:06 separate from the incident that we've been covering over the last week, Muga.

4:10 Yeah, also important to point that out as well.

4:12 Let people know no reason to freak out just yet.

4:15 Tom Hanson, thank you so much for your reporting today.

4:17 We appreciate it.