3 killed by hantavirus in Venezuela

Three people diagnosed with hantavirus have died in Venezuela, according to the country’s health ministry.

Venezuela’s Ministry of Health announced the deaths on Tuesday in the state of Anzoátegui. It did not say when the patients became ill or provide details about their ages. It said there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission in Venezuela.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses carried by rodents and typically spread to humans through contact with infected urine, feces or saliva, often when contaminated particles are inhaled. Infection can cause severe respiratory or kidney disease, depending on the strain.

The deaths come following an unrelated outbreak of Andes hantavirus linked to the M/V Hondius cruise ship that gained international attention. Thirteen people were infected and three died, before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak contained.

WHO said the first infections linked to the ship were likely acquired on land before embarkation, followed by limited person-to-person transmission during the voyage. Unlike most hantaviruses, Andes virus can sometimes spread between people through close and prolonged contact.

The Venezuelan health ministry also disclosed the deaths of two health care workers in the state of Barinas, but said their causes of death were still being investigated. It said the cases were unrelated to the hantavirus deaths in Anzoátegui and did not pose a risk to the general public.

Local media reported that the two health care workers died this month. Another doctor and a nurse at the same hospital died months earlier after developing a similar condition involving persistent fever, kidney problems, low platelet counts, prolonged clotting times and multiple organ failure.

The reports described the illness as being of unknown origin.