Health 10 May 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
WHO Chief: Hantavirus Fear Echoes COVID-19 Trauma
The World Health Organization's Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, believes public anxiety over a recent Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is amplified by lingering trauma from the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasized that Hantavirus is not COVID-19 and poses a low risk to the general population. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/hantavirus-fears-driven-by-unhealed-covid-trauma-says-who-boss-5453974
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), has suggested that the heightened public fear surrounding the Hantavirus cases on the cruise ship MV Hondius stems from unhealed psychological scars left by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on Tenerife Island, Spain, where the ship docked for a controlled disembarkation, Dr. Tedros acknowledged the legitimacy of local concerns, particularly given the COVID-19 experience. “The trauma is still in our minds,” he stated, assuring residents that the current public health risk from Hantavirus remains low.
The MV Hondius reported eight confirmed or probable cases of the Andes strain of Hantavirus, resulting in three deaths. The vessel, carrying approximately 150 passengers and crew, arrived with no symptomatic individuals. WHO experts are collaborating with Spanish health authorities to assess the situation and facilitate a safe disembarkation.
Hantaviruses, first identified in 1978, are rodent-borne viruses capable of causing severe illness in humans. While varying in severity, some strains, like the Andes virus, have fatality rates as high as 30-50 percent. The current outbreak originated among travelers on a ship that departed Argentina in March 2026.
In Uganda, health officials consider the virus a low concern due to its known transmission vectors and centuries-old existence. “It is not of concern to us in Uganda,” said Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze, Director of Public Health at the Ministry.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)