Four people traced in our country, one woman in precautionary quarantine. Health authorities activate surveillance as Europe updates containment measures.
The outbreak of hantavirus emerged aboard the expedition vessel MV Hondius continues to produce effects even outside the maritime perimeter. THE’today’s update it concerns above all Italy, where a network has been activated health surveillance on contacts identified in our country. According to what was reported in the last few hours by the health authorities, four people were tracked down in our country after traveling on a KLM flight on which the Dutch woman who subsequently died from Andes virus infection had climbed, only for a few minutes before being made to get off because she was already in very serious health conditions.
The most important clarification is that, at present, the individuals identified are not symptomatic. The Ministry of Health communicated that the information has been transmitted to the competent Regions for the activation of the planned procedures active surveillance. The individuals under surveillance are in Tuscany, where a woman residing in the Florence area was placed in precautionary quarantinein Calabria, in Campania and in Veneto.
There Calabria region made it known that it had promptly activated all the surveillance procedures required by the national and regional protocols, in conjunction with the Maritime, Air and Border Health Offices. In an official note, the regional administration underlined that «the situation is under control and is constantly followed by the territorial health authorities, who also carefully monitor the evolution of the national picture. The citizen was tracked down this morning by the authorities of the province of residence: he is currently in precautionary isolationAnd completely asymptomatic and is subject to the prevention measures provided for by the health protocols.”
The governor of the Veneto Region, Alberto Stefani, announced on his social media channels that a South African who arrived in Venice from Amsterdam on 26 April is being kept under close observation by healthcare personnel in quarantine in Padua. «The subject was among the passengers who boarded a plane in Johannesburgon board which a woman had boarded for a few minutes before take-off, and later died as a result of a hantavirus infection. The foreign citizen is cooperative, does not present any symptoms and is in good health. The contact with the deceased person was neither close nor prolonged. For this reason it is considered low risk. As a precaution, you will be able to undergo a test scheduled by the Ministry of Health in the next few hours.”
The Hondius ship ready to disembark passengers.
Meanwhile the MV Hondiusthe cruise ship at the center of the outbreak, is sailing towards Canaries. There Spain has activated the emergency health plan in view of the arrival of the vessel, expected at Tenerife on the night between Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May. The general director of theWorld Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesuswhich will follow the coordination of disembarkation and evacuation operations of passengers. Ghebreyesus should support the Spanish ministers of Health and of theInternal in a command center set up in Tenerife to ensure health control and the application of surveillance protocols. In an open letter addressed to the population of the island, the WHO director general wanted to reassure residents: “I need you to listen to me clearly: this is not another Covid pandemic. The current public health risk related to hantavirus remains low.” He also specified that the citizens of the island they will not have contact with the passengers of the ship.
