Atlantic Cruise Deaths Linked to Suspected Hantavirus: WHO

Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the WHO said Sunday, one a confirmed case of hantavirus — an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.

Cruise Hantavirus Outbreak Leaves 3 Dead, WHO Confirms Cases

The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius as it travelled from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde. The WHO confirmed one laboratory case of Hantavirus infection and identified five additional suspected cases, telling AFP that six individuals were affected. Three of them died, and doctors are treating one patient in intensive care in South Africa. Earlier on Sunday, South Africa’s health ministry reported an outbreak of a severe acute respiratory illness that killed at least two people, while a third remains in intensive care in Johannesburg.

The patient treated in Johannesburg tested positive for a hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause hemorrhagic fever, South African spokesperson Foster Mohale said”While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.” 

Atlantic Cruise Hantavirus Cases Turn Deadly

The first person to develop symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger. He died on board the ship and his body was currently on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic, Mohale the South African spokesman said. His 69-year-old wife also fell ill on board, and authorities evacuated her to South Africa, where she later died in a Johannesburg hospital, he said, adding that officials have not yet confirmed the victims’ nationalities.

Authorities evacuated a 69-year-old Briton, the third case, to Johannesburg, where doctors are treating him in intensive care. A source close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a Dutch couple were among the dead, while the third fatality remains on board the ship. Officials are discussing whether to place two other sick passengers in isolation at a hospital in Cape Verde, after which the ship will continue to Spain’s Canary Islands, the source added.

Also Read:Screams and Safety Gaps Emerge in New Video of Jabalpur Boat Tragedy

Atlantic Cruise Hantavirus Scare: WHO Coordinates Evacuations on MV Hondius

The WHO is facilitating coordination between national authorities and the ship’s operators to organise the medical evacuation of two passengers with symptoms. Travel agency websites list the MV Hondius as a polar cruise ship, and the Dutch-based tour company Oceanwide Expeditions operates it. One of its cruises offers an itinerary departing from Ushuaia to Cape Verde, with stops at South Georgia and Saint Helena.

According to several online ship-tracking sites, the MV Hondius was just off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.The vessel can accommodate around 170 passengers and has some 70 crew members. Humans can catch hantaviruses from contact with infected mice or rats or their droppings, or being bitten or inhaling contaminated dust. There are multiple types of hantaviruses in different parts of the world, with different symptoms.AFP contacted the cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions but has not yet had a reply

Also Read:Court Freezes Sunjay Kapur’s Accounts, Relief for Karisma’s Children