00:00The World Health Organization has said that the recent outbreak of the Hunter virus should not be a cause for
00:05worry,
00:06as the virus poses a low risk to humans.
00:09Health officials play down fears of a wider global outbreak from the virus, which is less contagious than COVID.
00:15Health experts have also echoed the same, saying the risk of spread of this virus is quite low.
00:20We also know that the viruses, new world Hunter viruses, cause a disease that we are seeing now called pulmonary
00:28syndromes.
00:29So the main targeted organ are the lungs, and it is believed also the heart to a lower extent.
00:36And the fatality rate is around 40%, which is why people are so scared, probably.
00:43And for all the world antiviruses, though, the pathology is quite different.
00:48So they mainly affect kidneys.
00:51And the fatality rate is much lower.
00:54It is between 1 to 15%.
00:56So it's the same viral family, different viral species that cause different types of diseases,
01:03depending on the species and where you contract it.
01:05The cruise ship has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday,
01:09when the WHO was informed that three passengers had died, and the suspected cause was Hunter virus.
01:15The rare respiratory disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.
01:21The most important thing is not to create panic.
01:26So, as I said, this virus is not new.
01:32And the fact that people are hearing about it or them for the first time means the transmission is very
01:39low.
01:39It doesn't happen often.
01:41And so I would suggest the public not be informed, get information from the right media and not to draw
01:57to any conclusion,
01:58like cancel all the holidays, start stockpiling or any goods.
02:07Laboratory testing in South Africa and Switzerland confirmed the cases from the ship were the undest strain of the Hunter
02:14virus,
02:15the one only known to pass between humans.
02:19The passengers began falling ill a month ago.
02:22He wanted to take care of a thousand people.
02:25He wanted to take care of a human health care system,
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