WHO declares end of hantavirus outbreak
The hantavirus outbreak, which claimed three lives in April, is now over. As the quarantine period for those who had been in contact with infected individuals has ended, the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Thursday that this outbreak, which resulted in 13 infections, had come to an end.
“The last close contacts have completed their quarantine,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the press in Geneva. One patient had been hospitalised in Zurich after returning from the region. He has recovered from the virus.
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A crew member of the MV Hondius – on which the first victim had died after contracting the virus before boarding – had to undergo quarantine in Aargau despite showing no symptoms. This ended around ten days ago. More than 600 close contacts were monitored.
A sample of the virus had been sent as early as May 8 by the University of Zurich to the international repository at the Spiez laboratory in canton Bern, the institution told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS. The WHO hopes it will contribute to research into drugs or vaccines.
Translated from French, sub-edited by ts
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