MADRID — World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today “our work is not over” to contain hantavirus after evacuations from a cruise ship hit by a deadly outbreak of the illness.

The fate of the MV Hondius has sparked international alarm after three passengers died in an outbreak of the rare virus, for which no vaccines or specific treatments exist.

Yet health officials have stressed that the global public health risk is low and rejected comparisons to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak,” Tedros told a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid after overseeing the evacuation in Spain’s Canary Islands.

“But of course the situation could change, and given the long incubation period of the virus, it’s possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks,” Tedros said of the Andes variant, which is transmissible between humans.

Among living patients, all of whom are passengers or crew of the ship, seven cases have been confirmed and an eighth is listed as “probable”, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

The affected nationalities include the United States, Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

More than 120 passengers and crew on the MV Hondius were flown out from Spain’s Canary Islands on Sunday and Monday, and countries have adopted different health measures for their returning evacuees.

Most have followed the WHO’s guidelines, which include a 42-day quarantine and constant monitoring of high-risk contacts because the incubation period can take six weeks.