KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC — The Ministry of Health is assuring citizens that heightened precautions are being implemented to protect the island from any possible spread of the Hantavirus, particularly through cruise ship traffic.
Speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie said that although the World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed the global risk of spread as low, local authorities are increasing surveillance measures given Jamaica’s role as a major cruise shipping hub.
Bisasor-McKenzie explained that health officials are closely monitoring incoming vessels through existing maritime health reporting systems, which require ships to report illnesses onboard before arriving in the island.
She noted that public health measures focus on early detection, timely treatment, and reducing exposure risks.
The CMO described Hantavirus as a family of viruses that can cause severe illness and death in humans, including hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Symptoms may begin with fever before progressing to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and shock.
According to Bisasor-McKenzie, the virus is primarily transmitted through exposure to the urine, saliva, or feces of infected rodents. She added that Jamaica’s Veterinary and Environmental Health divisions have conducted checks and have found no evidence of the virus in local rodent populations.
While human-to-human transmission is uncommon, she warned that the Andes strain of the virus, identified in South America, has been linked to documented cases of person-to-person spread through close contact with respiratory droplets or saliva.
Bisasor-McKenzie also disclosed that Jamaica currently lacks the capacity to test for Hantavirus locally. Still, arrangements are in place with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Trinidad and Tobago to facilitate testing of samples.
Discussions are also ongoing with the Pan American Health Organization regarding additional support.
Her comments come amid reports of eight known hantavirus cases, three confirmed and five suspected, among passengers aboard the MV Hondius, which is currently anchored off the coast of West Africa.
Three people have reportedly died in the suspected outbreak.
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