Africa’s disease watchdog is warning that most African nations cannot rapidly confirm hantavirus infections, exposing a critical weakness as the continent monitors the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak that has killed three people globally.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) disclosed Thursday that 28 African countries, representing 70 percent of the continent, lack the specific reagents and testing kits required for rapid hantavirus confirmation, while only about 12 countries currently have functional confirmation protocols in place.
Only 16 countries possess Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing capacity for hantavirus detection, including Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Cameroon and Mali.
The disclosure came during a joint technical webinar convened by the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) and Africa CDC, where health experts reviewed the ongoing international outbreak linked to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius.
As of May 13, the World Health Organization (WHO) had recorded 11 cases, eight confirmed, one inconclusive and two probable, with three deaths attributed to the Andes strain of hantavirus. The Andes virus is the only known hantavirus strain capable of spreading between humans.
The MV Hondius arrived at the port of Granadilla, Tenerife, on May 10, with disembarkation completed on May 11. Repatriation of all passengers and crew to their home countries was subsequently completed.
Africa CDC has assessed the risk to the continent as low but has engaged Cabo Verde and South Africa directly, the two African nations with confirmed links to the outbreak. Tolbert Nyenswah, director of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at Africa CDC, cautioned against complacency.
“The risk to Africa is low, but not zero,” Nyenswah said.
Africa CDC has urged member states to strengthen port health services, reinforce infection prevention and control measures and ensure timely reporting of suspected cases.
Hantaviruses are transmitted to humans primarily through contact with infected rodents or their waste materials and do not typically spread easily between people. The Andes strain, however, has shown limited capacity for human-to-human transmission, particularly in close-contact settings, which is why the confined environment of a cruise ship drew immediate international concern.
Laboratory confirmation for cases linked to the MV Hondius has been conducted at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa, with further sequencing and serology analyses ongoing.
