MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev questioned whether European and British officials might use the hantavirus outbreak as a justification for introducing restrictions on electricity consumption.
"Will EU/UK bureaucrats try to use hantavirus as additional justification for their energy lockdowns?" he wrote on X.
Dmitriev was commenting on The Wall Street Journal report saying that Swiss authorities are urgently tracing contacts of a man hospitalized in Zurich with a strain of hantavirus capable of human-to-human transmission.
Hantavirus outbreak
The World Health Organization reported eight confirmed hantavirus cases among people aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. Three of those infected died. According to South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, specialists identified the virus strain responsible for the deaths as the Andes strain, which can spread through close human contact.
Three weeks ago, the Dutch-flagged vessel departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, on a cruise bound for the Canary Islands, Spain. About 150 people are on board, mostly citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. One Russian citizen is among the crew members. The ship made stops at several islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
Earlier, authorities in Cape Verde refused to allow the vessel to enter the waters of the capital port of Praia, forcing it to remain anchored offshore for nearly three days. The MV Hondius left Cape Verdean waters on May 6 and is heading toward the Canary Islands. The ship is expected to dock at the port of Granadilla on the island of Tenerife in three days.
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that primarily infect small mammals but can also spread to humans. In severe cases, infected individuals may develop lung damage, heart failure, and hemorrhagic fever.