The Balearic Minister for Health, Manuela García, has issued a message of ‘absolute reassurance’ regarding the cases of hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius, emphasising that the risk in the Balearics is ‘very low’ and that ‘there is a very significant difference’ compared to Covid.
The minister made these remarks during the presentation of the Balearic Paediatric Transport Unit at Son Espases University Hospital, noting that this virus is well-known and that there are no Balearic residents amongst the cruise ship’s passengers.
A meeting of the Infectious Diseases Committee was held this afternoon to monitor the situation and to find out what measures the Public Health Commission is taking to, as the Regional Minister said, ‘keep abreast of everything that is happening in the rest of Spain’.
‘The message we must convey to the public is one of absolute reassurance. The risk of any cases appearing here in the Balearic Islands is very low, and there is actually a very significant difference, particularly compared to Covid,’ she maintained. García pointed out that regarding the hantavirus, it is known to be a zoonosis, how it is transmitted, the symptoms, and that diagnostic tests are already available, unlike Covid-19, which was previously unknown.
The Regional Ministry of Health explained in a press release that the Infectious Diseases Committee meeting had analysed the information on the action protocols agreed by the Ministry of Health’s National Public Health Commission. This committee, comprising specialists in epidemiology, public health, microbiologists and hospital healthcare staff, concluded that the risk of an outbreak with similar characteristics occurring in the Balearic Islands “is very low”.
Firstly, because no case of hantavirus has ever been detected in the islands and, secondly, because the rodent capable of transmitting it to humans is not present in the region, nor does the virus circulate amongst its native fauna. They have also explained that this is a zoonotic disease caused by a virus that has been known for many years and that, therefore, it “has nothing to do” with the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
For all these reasons, the Regional Infectious Diseases Committee has issued a message of “absolute reassurance” to the public, assuring them that the development of the outbreak is being monitored “minute by minute” and that they are keeping abreast of the measures being taken and the protocols of the Ministry of Health.
They have also emphasised that Public Health is in daily contact with Foreign Health, which is the competent body managing all the information. However, the Regional Ministry has stressed that the Balearics ‘are prepared to take measures should it be necessary’.
It has pointed out that the Balearic public health service has epidemiological surveillance protocols for this type of disease and procedures that allow contacts to be classified according to their risk and for monitoring and isolation measures to be established. Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illness and even death. They are mainly spread by rodents and the likelihood of transmission between people is very low.