Topline
World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday directly responded to far-right commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ claims that the United Nations agency was manufacturing propaganda about the Hantavirus.
Key Facts
Ghebreyesus, directly addressing Jones’ claim that WHO has launched “COVID 2.0,” said in a post on X that there is no “rollout” or “hype” around the recent ship-based Hantavirus outbreak and added “there are only 10 confirmed cases globally, and no deaths have been recorded since May 2.”
Jones claimed in an episode of his show earlier this week that health officials would try to fraudulently report hantavirus cases, saying, “They did it before, they’re clearly doing it again” before alleging the fraudulent reports were a “cover for the crashing world economy.”
Ghebreyesus acknowledged COVID “took loved ones, disrupted lives, and shook our trust in the institutions meant to protect us,” but noted “the facts today tell a different story,” saying that because all recent hantavirus deaths are linked to the cruise ship outbreak, the WHO maintains the disease’s risk to the global population is low.
News Peg
More than 40 people in the U.S. are being monitored for hantavirus in connection to the cruise ship outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday there were no cases in the U.S. and that the risk to the public remained low, CNBC reported.
Key Background
The hantavirus outbreak began on a cruise ship known as the MV Hondius, which was on an expedition from Ushuaia, Argentina. The WHO identified the outbreak weeks after the first death aboard the ship was recorded. All passengers, who came from countries including the U.S., U.K. and Spain, disembarked from the ship this week and are being monitored for hantavirus, a rare illness contracted by inhaling particles contaminated with the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents. The outbreak sparked concern because health officials said it was triggered by the rare Andes strain of the virus that can be transmitted from person to person by prolonged, close exposure. Of the 10 confirmed cases globally, eight have been confirmed and two are probable, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Further Reading
No Americans Have Hantavirus From Cruise Outbreak (Latest Updates) (Forbes)
