The hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship, MV Hondius, has now reached 12 confirmed cases, with three reported deaths, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.
Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, Tedros said the Netherlands had confirmed an additional case involving a crew member who disembarked in Tenerife, Spain, was repatriated to the Netherlands and has been isolating since then.
No deaths have been reported since May 2, when the outbreak was first reported to WHO, said Tedros.
He urged the affected countries to continue carefully monitoring all passengers and crew members for the remainder of the quarantine period.
More than 600 contacts continue to be followed in 30 countries, and a small number of high-risk contacts are still being located, according to the WHO chief.
He also thanked the countries cooperating in the international response and epidemiological investigation.
The cruise, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, departed from Argentina on April 1, carrying around 150 passengers and crew members from more than 20 countries.
The ship arrived at the Dutch port city of Rotterdam on Monday for disinfection, ending a voyage that had drawn the attention of international health authorities over hantavirus infections on board.
Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship rise to 12 after crew member tests positive: WHO
Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship rise to 12 after crew member tests positive: WHO
Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship rise to 12 after crew member tests positive: WHO
The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surpassed 3,000, as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the risks of undetected chains of transmission.
As of Aug 31, the DRC had recorded 6,186 confirmed cases and 3,007 deaths, according to an official situation report. A total of 1,409 patients have recovered, while 830 others remain in isolation or Ebola treatment centers.
The outbreak has affected 60 health zones across the six provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, Haut-Uele, Tshopo, South Kivu and Bas-Uele. Ituri remains the epicenter, accounting for 81.9 percent of all confirmed cases nationwide.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC is moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreaks in the country.
Tedros said that there are still undetected chains of transmission in the current outbreak, adding that many deaths are among people who were not on a list of known contacts.
Until every chain is found and broken, the epidemic will continue, he added.
During Tuesday's online briefing, Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, warned that the virus was still outpacing the scaled-up response.
Unless the response efforts are stepped up urgently, more lives will be lost and the threat will grow, he said.
The UN official also revealed that over 40 health workers have died from Ebola while responding to the outbreak, while treatment centers and ambulances have also come under attack.
The current outbreak, declared in May, has since become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest globally, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.
DR Congo Ebola deaths top 3,000 as WHO warns risks of unclear transmission chains
