Geneva, July 2 (SANA)World Health OrganizationDirector-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Thursday that the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship is officially over, following the quarantine and negative test results of all contacts, according to the WHO.

“The final contact of a person exposed to hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius completed their quarantine period, tested negative and returned home,” Tedros said during a press briefing, according to AFP and multiple international news agencies.

“No further cases have been reported since May 25. We are therefore very pleased to say that WHO considers the outbreak of hantavirus over,” he added.

The outbreak, first reported to WHO on May 2, resulted in 13 confirmed or probable cases and three deaths among passengers on the Dutch-flagged polar exploration ship, which had set sail from Argentina on April 1. The virus involved was the Andes strain, a rare hantavirus variant found primarily in South America, which is the only strain known to be capable of limited human-to-human transmission.

More than 650 contacts were identified and monitored by health authorities across 33 countries and territories, Tedros said.

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses primarily transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings, or saliva. They can cause two severe illnesses: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, seen in the Americas, and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, seen in Europe and Asia.

The Andes virus, linked to this outbreak, is endemic to South America and has a high fatality rate of up to 40-50%. No licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus currently exists, and patient care is primarily supportive. The WHO said it is coordinating a study involving 21 countries to better understand the disease and support the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for future outbreaks.