ISTANBUL, Türkiye: Türkiye today will bring back three of its citizens from an international cruise ship where hantavirus cases were detected, the Health Ministry announced, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
In a Saturday statement on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, the ministry said the health of the three Turkish nationals had been closely monitored.
“The monitoring process, carried out in coordination with relevant international authorities, indicates that our citizens have not shown any symptoms or signs of illness,” the statement said.
The ministry added that the trio would be placed under quarantine immediately upon their arrival in Türkiye and that all health procedures would be done carefully by the ministry.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the hantavirus outbreak as a Level 3 emergency response, the lowest level of emergency activation.
The outbreak, involving the Andes strain of hantavirus, has so far resulted in five confirmed cases, including three deaths, among passengers connected to the voyage, according to WHO officials.
The MV Hondius, carrying some 150 passengers and crew members of 23 nationalities, departed from Argentina and crossed the Atlantic before reporting a cluster of respiratory illnesses while sailing off Cape Verde, off West Africa. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
