Passenger Ruhi Chenet said people on the ship continued eating and socializing together after the captain announced a passenger had died from what was believed to be natural causes. At the time, passengers were unaware a virus may have been spreading onboard.
Infectious disease experts say hantavirus is not new and is very different from COVID-19. They believe the chances of it becoming a major global health emergency are extremely low, although more cases could appear because the virus has a long incubation period.
Health officials in several countries, including Canada, the U.K., the U.S., Singapore, and France, are monitoring passengers and close contacts. Ontario and Quebec health officials confirmed that some residents are isolating as a precaution, but the risk to the public remains very low.
Investigators believe the outbreak may have started in Argentina, where some passengers visited areas known to have rats carrying the Andes virus, a strain of hantavirus. The WHO is now working with international health agencies to trace contacts and provide testing kits.
