“This is not COVID,” a WHO spokesperson told journalists at a briefing in Geneva, as the agency continues to coordinate the response to the deadly outbreak on a cruise liner moored in Cabo Verde.

To date, three people have died and several others fell ill aboard the Dutch-flagged ship the Hondius, prompting a major international public health response involving countries across Europe, Africa and Latin America.

“Let’s not forget from couples who were close…from a flight attendant who handled the sick woman who just shortly after died and was feeling extremely unwell, we get negative test results. That should convince nearly everybody now that this is a dangerous virus, but only to the person who is really infected. And it's the risk to the general population remains absolutely low,” said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.

Eight cases of infection have been reported so far, including five laboratory-confirmed infections and three suspected cases linked to the rare Andes strain of hantavirus, according to WHO.

No comparison with COVID

“I need to stress again and again, even those who have been sharing cabins don't seem to be both infected in some cases…it’s not spreading anything close to how COVID was spreading,” Mr. Lindmeier said.

Beyond the Hantius cruise liner where the outbreak was first reported, contact tracing has continued of potentially infected individuals.

“It’s following up on everybody. It’s looking into seating lists of planes, of ships, maybe even more tracing somebody's steps, seeing where they would have been or might have been in close contact,” Mr. Lindmeier said.

According to WHO, transmission generally requires close and prolonged contact, particularly among household members, intimate partners or healthcare workers.

Even so, the wife whose infected husband is being treated in a Swiss hospital “has not presented any symptoms and is self-isolating…So that shows you, again, luckily, apparently the virus is not that contagious,” Mr. Lindmeier said.

The first known patient developed symptoms on 6 April and later died aboard the vessel. His wife also became ill and died after being evacuated to South Africa, where laboratory testing confirmed hantavirus infection.

Rodent risk

Prior to boarding, the couple had travelled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on a birdwatching trip, including visits to sites where the rodent species known to carry the virus is present.

Another passenger died on 2 May and while one man remains in intensive care in South Africa, WHO said his condition is improving. Other patients have been transferred to hospitals in the Netherlands for treatment.

WHO said no passengers or crew currently remaining aboard the ship are showing symptoms.

Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses carried by rodents and are usually transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or their urine, saliva or droppings (checkout WHO’s hantavirus factsheet here).

The Andes strain, found in parts of Latin America, is the only known hantavirus capable of limited human-to-human transmission.

The outbreak has triggered action under the International Health Regulations, the global framework designed to coordinate responses to cross-border health threats.

WHO said it is working closely with authorities in Cabo Verde, Spain, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Argentina, alongside the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.