Venezuelan health authorities have confirmed that three people have died from hantavirus infections, while stressing there is no evidence that the disease is spreading between people in the country.
The deaths occurred in the eastern state of Anzoátegui, an area where human cases of the rodent-borne virus are rarely reported. Officials described the cases as isolated incidents and said there was currently no threat to the wider population.
At the same time, health officials are investigating the deaths of two healthcare workers in the southwestern state of Barinas, where hantavirus is also suspected. Authorities said those cases remain under review and are not connected to the fatalities reported in Anzoátegui, which lies roughly 655 kilometres away.
According to the Venezuelan Medical Federation, the three victims in Anzoátegui belonged to the same family and lived in the rural municipality of Miranda.
The Health Ministry said medical teams would be deployed to the affected areas to strengthen surveillance and ensure public health protections, although it did not provide further details about the response.
Hantaviruses are found in many parts of the world and are most commonly transmitted through contact with infected rodents such as rats and mice. Human infections are generally rare, and transmission from one person to another is considered uncommon. In severe cases, the virus can lead to serious respiratory illness or kidney failure.
The announcement comes amid heightened international attention on hantavirus following a deadly outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius earlier this year. That outbreak, linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, killed three passengers and infected several others, raising concerns because some variants of the virus can occasionally spread between humans.
Scientists are still investigating the origins of that cruise ship outbreak. Researchers in Argentina have already ruled out several early theories, including suggestions that the virus may have originated in Ushuaia, known as the world's southernmost city, or in the wine-producing province of Mendoza.
While health authorities continue to monitor developments, Venezuelan officials maintain that the recent deaths do not indicate a broader outbreak and that there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission within the country.
At least 11 people, including eight children, have been killed after a powerful explosion at a firecracker fact...
Recovery teams are continuing operations in Grand Canyon National Park after flash floods swept through parts of the canyon over the weekend, leavi...
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have formalised their new defensive alliance at the grouping’s first high-level meeting held Monday i...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leaders gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
Russian strikes on the Kyiv region overnight killed 37 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian capital was under "virtually nonstop attack" from drones.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Australia has confirmed its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a mammal after the virus was detected in a dead long-nosed fur seal in South Australia, authorities said.
Malaysia is facing a sharp rise in dengue infections, with the capital Kuala Lumpur and the wider Klang Valley emerging as the main centres of concern.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak has surpassed 5,000 confirmed cases, with the death toll reaching 2,378, according to the latest government data.
The Democratic Republic of Congo says the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to more than 5,000, with more than 2,300 deaths. Delayed detection, weak surveillance, funding shortages and conflict have allowed the virus to spread faster than in any previous epidemic at the same stage.
Australia warned on Monday (3 August) of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first confirmed mass mortality event among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast of South Australia, south of Adelaide.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment