The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries to keep monitoring passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship after a hantavirus case was detected in a Dutch crew member, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

Tedros confirmed that the crew member tested positive and is now in isolation, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12. So far, three people have died from the virus, but no deaths have been reported since May 2, when the outbreak was first reported to the WHO.

"More than 600 contacts continue to be followed in 30 countries, and a small number of high-risk contacts are still being located," Tedros added.

Dutch authorities confirmed the infected crew member was hospitalized as a precaution. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) stated that the patient is in isolation and the risk of further spread in the Netherlands remains very low.

The ship departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, heading to Cape Verde and then Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. The virus is believed to have been introduced by rodents during a bird-watching expedition.

The Andes strain of hantavirus is the only known strain capable of human-to-human transmission.

Source: www.aljazeera.com