Hantavirus kills three in Venezuela

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At least three people in Venezuela died after contracting hantavirus, the health ministry said Tuesday, as it ruled out human-to-human transmission of the rare disease.

There is no specific treatment for the respiratory virus, which is typically spread by rodents and far less commonly between people.

Three people with a "confirmed hantavirus diagnosis" died in the northeastern state of Anzoátegui, Venezuela's health ministry said, adding that "there is no scientific evidence of human-to-human transmission in our country."

The ministry also rejected the idea of a link between the hantavirus fatalities and the deaths of two medical workers in the western state of Barinas—the cause of the deaths remains undetermined.

"Any connection between the reported situations has been ruled out," it stressed.

A hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in April triggered a global health scare.

Three people aboard the MV Hondius died of the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak officially over in early July.

The ship had set sail on April 1 from Argentina, where the Andes strain of the virus—the only type known to spread between humans—is endemic in some regions.

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