Ghana Strengthens Border Surveillance Despite WHO Downplaying Global Hantavirus Threat

WRITTEN BY JOSHUA NARH

Ghana has stepped up health surveillance at its ports of entry following growing international concern over a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship in South America, although the World Health Organisation says the virus is unlikely to spark a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says no case has been recorded in the country, but health authorities have activated precautionary measures at airports, seaports and land borders to prevent a possible importation of the virus.

The move follows an outbreak aboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius, where multiple passengers were infected with the Andes strain of hantavirus, leading to at least three deaths and an international contact-tracing exercise.

Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, said Ghana is intensifying screening and monitoring systems at entry points as part of efforts to detect any suspected case early.

Health officials say the country is relying on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, when a delayed global response contributed to widespread transmission across borders.

The World Health Organisation has meanwhile urged caution but warned against panic, stressing that hantavirus spreads very differently from COVID-19.

According to WHO officials, the virus is primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents, particularly their urine, saliva or droppings. Human-to-human transmission is considered rare and has only been associated with the Andes strain found in parts of South America.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said current evidence does not suggest the outbreak poses the kind of global pandemic risk seen during the coronavirus crisis because sustained airborne transmission among humans has not been observed.

International health agencies are currently tracing passengers who left the affected cruise ship before the outbreak was confirmed, with monitoring efforts underway across several countries.

The outbreak has nonetheless renewed global conversations about epidemic preparedness, border surveillance and rapid response systems, particularly in countries still rebuilding public health confidence after COVID-19.

The Ghanaian health authorities are therefore urging the public to remain calm while adhering to basic hygiene and sanitation measures, especially in environments vulnerable to rodent infestation.