Transparency can counter virus scare and panic

It’s ironic that the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the centre of the hantavirus scare, is registered in the Netherlands because she seems doomed – like the legendary “Flying Dutchman” ghost ship – to forever wander the seas in search of a safe port.

So far, she has been turned away by Cape Verde – whose government only allowed some of the sick passengers to disembark so they could be immediately flown to hospital in Europe – but also caused anger in the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain, but whose local government wanted to bar the ship, too.

It does seem as though MV Hondius may eventually be allowed to dock in Tenerife, after the government in Spain over-ruled the Canary Island administration.

Apart from that eerie similarity to a creepy sailor’s story, the drama around the MV Hondius has been seized upon by some as the “Sequel to Covid”.

And, given how the internet has supercharged the conspiracy industry in the wake of that pandemic, which struck the world at the beginning of 2020, there are elements of panic setting in, along with some anger, because some people, once again, believed “they” are lying to us once again.

Those feelings go against the clinical reality that the two viruses, although deadly, are quite different.

It is true that the Andes variant of hantavirus is the only one which can be spread by human-to-human contact… and the fact that it has already chalked up a number of victims makes many reluctant to believe the assurances from both the World Health Organisation and our own health authorities that the risk of a public health emergency like Covid is low.

It is essential that communication is crystal clear from all involved to combat not only the spread of infection, but also the proliferation of toxic misinformation.

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