A Hantavirus infected man is being treated at the University Hospital of Zurich (USZ). The patient had been aboard the cruise ship where other cases of infection had also been identified, according to an announcement from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
The hospital is fully equipped to handle such cases, ensuring the safety of both staff and other patients. Authorities have stated there is no risk to the general public.
Symptoms Appeared After His Trip to South America
The man and his wife had returned from a trip to South America at the end of April. After developing symptoms, he called his family doctor and was then admitted to USZ, where he was immediately placed in isolation.
Lab tests carried out at the reference laboratory of the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) confirmed that the patient is infected with the Andes virus, a strain of hantavirus endemic to South America. Unlike European strains, which spread through contact with infected rodent droppings, the Andes strain can, in rare cases, be transmitted from person to person, but only through very close contact.
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) considers the risk of further transmission within Switzerland to be very low, and the risk to the general public remains minimal.
Quarantine Measures — Wife Shows No Symptoms
The man’s wife, who accompanied him on the trip, has been placed in precautionary quarantine despite showing no symptoms. Local health authorities have launched contact tracing to determine whether the patient came into contact with others while infected.
USZ, which serves as a reference hospital for such infections, is providing medical care under all necessary safety and prevention protocols.
Authorities Working Closely Together
The OFSP is in ongoing communication with the health authorities of the canton of Zurich, USZ, HUG, and the World Health Organization (WHO), closely monitoring how the situation develops.
Hantavirus cases in Switzerland are extremely rare, with between zero and six cases recorded annually in recent years, most of them linked to travel abroad.
MV Hondius Cruise Ship: Andes Strain Confirmed
South African health authorities have confirmed the presence of the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only strain known to spread between humans, in two passengers aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, where an outbreak of the disease has been reported. The country’s Health Minister announced this during a parliamentary presentation on May 6.
According to the minister’s presentation, as cited by Reuters, tests by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed that a Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg had been infected with the Andes strain. The same strain was also detected in a British man who remains hospitalized. Both had fallen ill while on board.
As of now, three passengers from the MV Hondius, which departed Argentina in March, have died, while around 149 people from 23 countries remain on the vessel. The WHO has recorded seven hantavirus cases linked to the ship: two laboratory-confirmed and five suspected.
