Venezuela confirms three hantavirus deaths

Venezuela confirmed on Tuesday, July 21, that three people have died from hantavirus infections, while stressing there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission in the country, where cases of the rodent-borne disease in humans are rare.

The Health Ministry said hantavirus was also suspected in the deaths of two healthcare workers in the southwestern state of Barinas. Those cases remain under investigation and have not been linked to the three confirmed fatalities in the eastern state of Anzoátegui, located about 655 kilometres (407 miles) away, as per the latest report by American media.

Both Anzoátegui and Barinas were largely spared the impact of two major earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela earlier this month.

The ministry described the cases in both states as isolated incidents that “do not represent a risk to the general community.” It added that health personnel would be deployed to the affected regions to “guarantee the health security of all Venezuelans,” without providing further details.

The Venezuelan Medical Federation, a national professional body, said the three deaths in Anzoátegui occurred within the same family in the rural municipality of Miranda, in the southern part of the state.

Hantaviruses are found worldwide and are primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents, including rats and mice. Human-to-human transmission is rare and generally difficult. In severe cases, infection can lead to life-threatening respiratory illness or kidney failure.

However, recent developments have raised concerns about the potential for limited person-to-person spread. A deadly outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic in May highlighted the risks associated with certain strains. The Andes hantavirus, identified in the outbreak on the MV Hondius, caused three deaths and infected several other passengers. The strain has drawn global attention due to its mortality rate, which can reach as high as 30%, and the absence of effective treatments or vaccines.

In Argentina, where the cruise originated, authorities are continuing efforts to determine the source of the outbreak. An initial hypothesis suggested that the index case, a Dutch ornithologist, may have been infected in the southern city of Ushuaia, often referred to as being “at the end of the world.”

However, Argentine scientists who recently conducted testing on local rodent populations have ruled out Ushuaia as the source, alleviating concerns in the Antarctic cruise hub, which relies heavily on international tourism.

Earlier this month, Argentine authorities also excluded the wine-producing province of Mendoza as a possible origin of the outbreak, after investigators and biologists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no evidence of hantavirus in rodents collected from areas visited by the Dutch man and his wife.

By Tamilla Hasanova