Children under 7-8 years old and elderly people over 60-70 years old are at risk of contracting the new virus.
Medianews.az reports, referring to Medicina.az, that Aleksandr Gintsburg, the scientific director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, has stated.
Gintsburg explained that children's immune systems are not yet fully developed, and elderly people's immune systems are no longer functioning so effectively.
On April 1, the MV Hondius ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the Canary Islands. Eight people on the ship tested positive for hantavirus, and three have died. There were approximately 150 people on the ship, most of whom are citizens of the USA, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Among the crew members, there is also one Russian citizen. The ship has already stopped at several islands in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.
According to Anais Legand, an expert from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently no confirmed vaccines or treatments available for the ongoing Andes hantavirus outbreak on the ship.
The WHO expert stated that emergency medical assistance remains the main measure in combating hantaviruses. The organization also noted that the spread of the Andes hantavirus on the cruise ship does not indicate the beginning of a new pandemic.
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses primarily infecting small mammals but can also be transmitted to humans. In severe cases, the lungs of infected individuals are damaged, leading to heart failure and hemorrhagic fever.