hantavirus outbreak: Three people were killed and investigations are ongoing into possible suspects Hantavirus The outbreak affects an Atlantic cruise ship.
Although there is only one case Hantavirus Laboratory tests confirmed that five other passengers on the MV Hondius reported illness, and the ship was Argentina Fly to Cape Verde on April 1st.
According to Dutch shipowner Oceanwide Expeditions, the dead included an elderly Dutch couple and a German citizen.
British crew need ‘urgent’ medical care
one British One crew member requires “urgent” medical attention, while another Briton is being treated in intensive care.
The British passenger is in a “critical but stable” condition after being medically evacuated to South Africa.
The operator reported that two crew members – one from the UK and the other from the Netherlands – were still exhibiting “acute respiratory symptoms”, one mild and the other severe.
according to WHOTo date, a total of seven cases of hantavirus have been detected on cruise ships, with two confirmed and five suspected.
Atlantic Cruise Lines: Passengers not allowed to leave MV Hondius
The MV Hondius is currently the site of a hantavirus outbreak and passengers will not be allowed to disembark until it reaches the Canary Islands, 900 miles northeast of its current location in Cape Verde.
Cape Verdean health authorities refused to allow asymptomatic passengers and crew to leave the ship.
Dr Maria van Kerkhove, Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention at the World Health Organization (WHO), has been discussing the latest insights into the hantavirus outbreak on BBC Breakfast.
“Our working hypothesis is that there are several different types of transmission that could occur: It could be some kind of infection – exposure to a rodent or its feces or saliva before a passenger gets on the plane – and there could be some limited person-to-person transmission between contacts.”
She added: “We want to make sure they are safe and we want to make sure that even if they are infected – like we said, there are no other symptomatic people on our ship – to make sure they get medical care.”
Hantavirus outbreak: What’s next for infected cruise ship
The cruise ship with 150 people on board is currently stranded in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa as the island nation of Cape Verde refuses to allow passengers to disembark due to health concerns.
The MV Hondius was on a multi-week polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and was heading to Spain’s Canary Islands when passengers began showing symptoms of the illness, according to the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, Spanish authorities have not yet verified whether the ship will be allowed to dock, but they said they are closely monitoring developments, the New York Post reported.
While the ship awaits aid, stranded passengers are confined to their cabins due to an ongoing health crisis related to rodent-borne diseases.
Cape Verdean authorities sent a team of doctors, surgeons, nurses and laboratory experts to provide medical assistance to the ship, officials said.
On Monday, at least five people in full protective gear, including white coveralls, boots and masks, disembarked and entered a smaller vessel, the New York Post reported.
The timetable for the evacuation of patients on the ship remains uncertain.
World Health Organization officials suspect the disease may have started spreading after an unusual incident of person-to-person transmission among very close contacts on the ship.
