Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

The hantavirus that caused the cruise outbreak has been sequenced

The virus that caused the MV Hondius cruise outbreak has been sequenced by the Zuiza Viral Infection Reference Center and the University of Zurich. This has allowed researchers to confirm that it is the Andean strain. They also point out that they have not seen a mixture of genetic material, that is, it does not seem to be a new variant.

Compared to sequences in global databases, they have shown that it is almost identical to the virus that caused another outbreak in Argentina in 2018-2019. They say that this is important because it indicates that it has been transmitted from rodents to humans, as it was then.

“They point out that they haven’t seen a mix of genetic material, which doesn’t seem to be a new variant.”

However, because they have sequenced a single genome, they cannot know whether there has been more than one contamination from animals to humans during this outbreak, or whether there has been a single contamination from animals, and then whether it has been transmitted from man to man.

Sequencing is also useful for validating diagnostic tests. That is, to confirm the suitability of the PCR test that they have now used. In fact, if the virus had mutations in the parts detected by the test, there would be a risk that it would be negative.