WHO Report on Hantavirus Cases on a Cruise Ship: Assessment of the Situation for Germany
The reported hantavirus cases associated with a cruise ship were caused by the Andes virus, which is found in South America. From a medical perspective, this event is noteworthy because human-to-human transmission of this virus has been described in rare cases, and this may have played a role here as well. However, according to current assessments, this is a rather rare and locally limited event.
For the hantaviruses found in Europe, human-to-human transmission is not known to date. The situation in Germany regarding indigenous hantaviruses therefore remains unchanged.
In Germany, the risk arises primarily from contact with the excretions of infected small mammals—that is, urine, feces, or saliva—for example, when dust containing the pathogen is inhaled. The Puumala virus is particularly relevant in this country, as its natural reservoir host is the bank vole. Other hantaviruses, including the Dobrava-Belgrade, Tula, and Seoul viruses, are also known to be associated with rodents in Germany. In humans, all of these hantaviruses typically result in isolated infections caused by contact with the excretions of infected rodents; chains of human-to-human transmission do not occur.
The natural reservoir hosts of the Andes virus, certain dwarf rice rats, are restricted to South America. The Andes virus therefore does not occur naturally in Europe.
There are no vaccines or specific treatments available for hantavirus infections. It is therefore particularly important to avoid contact with the excretions of infected reservoir hosts. Practical advice on this is provided in the fact sheet “How do I avoid hantavirus infections?”
The National Reference Laboratory for Hantaviruses at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), a member institution of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), supports national and international authorities in diagnosis, assessment, and prevention. The current incident underscores the importance of international health surveillance as well as close interdisciplinary cooperation in the event of unusual infectious disease outbreaks.
Links
- FAQs (in German only)
- Fact Sheet „How can I prevent hantavirus infections?“ (in German only)“
- FLI National Reference Laboratory
- RKI Consultant Laborartory
- RKI Data on human cases in Germany
- ECDC data on human cases in Europe
- WHO Website
Source: Press release of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) (in German only)
