World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has praised South Africa (SA) for stepping in to assist during an emergency health situation.

He was providing an update on a Hantavirus cluster linked to passengers aboard a cruise ship.

WHO says international disease outbreak experts are now on board the ship to assist passengers.

WHO says eight cases have been reported, including three deaths.

Five of the eight cases have been confirmed as Hantavirus.

The cruise ship has now been cleared to dock in the Canary Islands.

Ghebreyesus says comprehensive risk assessments have already been conducted on the vessel.

“WHO is supporting authorities in SA to follow the people who were in the flight to St Helena to Johannesburg with the woman who later died. The risk to the people in the Canary Islands is actually low. The ship is now sailing to the Canary Islands.”

WHO Epidemic and Pandemic Acting Director, Maria Van Kerkhove, says suspected cases are being closely monitored to limit further infections.

“We are getting reports of the potential suspected cases. These are alerts as we call them. Some of them have been reported to have the links to the ship.”

Van Kerkhove has also moved to reassure the public that the virus is not similar to COVID-19.

“This is not Coronavirus. This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hantavirus has been around for quite a while.”

The vessel departed from Argentina in early April and travelled across the South Atlantic, making several stops in remote and ecologically sensitive regions.

–SABC–