Three passengers dead after suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship | Cape Verde

Three people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic.

One case of hantavirus infection has been confirmed and five other suspected cases have been reported, the World Health Organization told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.

Of the six people affected, three have died and one is in intensive care in South Africa, the WHO added. Two of the people who died were a husband and wife aged 70 and 69.

The person in intensive care is a 69-year-old British national, according to the BBC.

A spokesperson for the Dutch Foreign Ministry confirmed that two passengers from the Netherlands had died, but gave no further details.

The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius, which was traveling between Argentina and Cape Verde.

The ship is operated by Dutch travel company Oceanwide Expeditions. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Sunday, South Africa’s health ministry told AFP there had been an outbreak of “severe acute respiratory illness”, which had killed at least two people, including a third in intensive care in Johannesburg.

The patient treated in Johannesburg tested positive for hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause hemorrhagic fever, South African spokesman Foster Mohale said.

Hantavirus is usually caught through contact with the urine or droppings of infected rodents, but in rare cases it can spread between people. This can lead to serious respiratory illnesses.

The first person to develop symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger. He died on board the ship and his body is currently on the island of St Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, Mohale said.

The man’s 69-year-old wife also fell ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital.

Their nationalities have not yet been established but a source close to the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that a Dutch couple was among the dead.

The third death was still on board the ship as of Sunday evening.

Another passenger, a 69-year-old British man, was also evacuated to Johannesburg, where he was being treated in intensive care.

Discussions were underway to decide whether two other sick passengers should be placed in isolation at a hospital in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the west coast of Africa, after which the ship would continue to Spain’s Canary Islands, the anonymous source said.

The WHO said it was “facilitating coordination” between national authorities and the ship’s operators to arrange the medical evacuation of two passengers with symptoms.

The MV Hondius is listed as a polar cruise ship on the websites of several travel agencies. One of the cruises offers an itinerary from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde, with stops in the islands of South Georgia and St. Helena.

The ship can accommodate approximately 170 passengers and has 70 crew members. According to several online ship tracking sites, the MV Hondius was located just off the coast of the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.

The UK Foreign Office said: “We are closely monitoring reports of a possible hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius cruise ship and are prepared to support British nationals if necessary. We are in contact with the cruise line and local authorities.”