Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

The current Cypriot Presidency of the European Union has decided to activate the Council's Integrated Crisis Response Mechanism (IPCR) in an information-sharing mode to effectively monitor the Hantavirus outbreak.

According to a European statement distributed in Brussels on Thursday, activating the IPCR will facilitate information exchange between member states and EU institutions. It will serve as a platform to consolidate all relevant information and ongoing actions, with the aim of raising awareness of the situation and supporting preparedness.

Based on the evidence available so far, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) classifies the risk level to the general population in Europe as very low, given the appropriate implementation of infection prevention and control measures and the fact that Hantaviruses do not easily spread between humans.

Information sharing and coordination activities are already underway at the EU level in relevant sectors, particularly in the health and civil protection sectors. According to European media reports, amid global concern and growing fears about the spread of the Hantavirus, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) clarified on Wednesday that there are no indications that the Andean strain of the virus has mutated following the outbreak on a cruise ship that resulted in fatalities.

Significant concern has gripped several countries worldwide after the deaths of three passengers from the rare Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship traveling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

Seven confirmed cases have been recorded among passengers on the ship, including a French national in critical condition, while an eighth case is considered "probable," according to an AFP tally.

All passengers have been evacuated from the ship and placed in quarantine. Andreas Hofer of the ECDC in Stockholm stated during a press briefing, "Based on preliminary investigations based on the complete genetic sequence available to us, there are no indications that this virus is different from the known strain circulating in some parts of the world." Hoover, an epidemiologist specializing in microbiology and molecular biology, noted that "all the genetic sequence information we have so far is almost identical, meaning that a single event likely occurred for the transmission of the virus from an infected animal to humans."

This virus is typically spread by rodents, often through their urine, feces, and saliva.

Laboratory tests in South Africa and Switzerland confirmed that the virus belongs to the Andean strain, the only known strain of this virus that infects humans.

There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the Hantavirus.

Guidelines from both the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend a 42-day quarantine and contact tracing for high-risk individuals, as the incubation period can last up to six weeks.

"Given the long incubation period, it is not unlikely that more cases will emerge among the passengers who have been quarantined," said ECDC Director Pamela Rendi-Wagner. Gianfranco Spiteri, head of the European Centre for Epidemic Preparedness and Health Security (ECEP), pointed out that people can transmit the virus days before symptoms appear.

He said, "As a precaution, we recommend tracing those who have been in contact with a patient two days before the onset of symptoms."