ADDIS ABABA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has urged precautionary measures against hantavirus, while assessing the outbreak as posing only a minimal risk to the continent.
The call followed a cluster of hantavirus infections identified on an international cruise ship, MV Hondius, that departed Argentina for Spain's Canary Islands, carrying 147 individuals.
During an online media briefing on Thursday, Tolbert Nyenswah, director of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at the Africa CDC, stressed that with a current case fatality rate of around 37 percent, even a low transmission rate warrants global public health measures.
"The risk to Africa is low, but not zero," Nyenswah said. "This is why we are taking all the precautions, and all the public health measures should be taken by people across the world. Africa CDC will continue to update the population."
The Africa CDC stressed that the clustering of cases among travelers in a confined environment "warrants heightened vigilance and further investigation to determine the source and mode of exposure."
The agency also disclosed that it is working closely with Cabo Verde and South Africa, the two African countries currently linked to the virus outbreak. The incident has prompted authorities from several countries to initiate a coordinated international response involving case investigation, isolation, and laboratory testing.
Hantaviruses are carried by rodents and can cause severe disease in humans through contact with infected animals' urine, droppings, or saliva. ■
