Three passengers aboard a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean have died and three others are being treated after a suspected hantavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization confirmed Sunday, with two symptomatic crew members still on board and authorities blocking the vessel from docking.
The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, left Ushuaia, Argentina roughly three weeks ago on a voyage that included stops in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands and was bound for Spain’s Canary Islands. The ship is currently anchored off Cape Verde, an island nation off Africa’s west coast, after local authorities visited the vessel but declined to authorize disembarkation.
Of the six affected individuals, one case has been laboratory-confirmed as hantavirus. Five others remain suspected cases, with investigations and viral sequencing ongoing. Two of the dead were a married couple: a 70-year-old man who died aboard the ship — his body is being held at the British territory of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic — and his 69-year-old wife, who was evacuated to South Africa and died after collapsing at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
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The identity and circumstances of the third victim have not been publicly disclosed. A UK national with a confirmed hantavirus infection is currently in intensive care in South Africa and is not among the dead.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases has launched contact tracing in the Johannesburg area to identify anyone who may have been exposed. WHO is coordinating the medical evacuation of the two symptomatic crew members still on board, though Cape Verde authorities have not yet approved their transfer to onshore care. Around 150 tourists and 70 crew members were on the ship at the time of the outbreak.
Hantavirus infections are primarily linked to exposure to urine, saliva, or feces from infected rodents. The source of exposure on the MV Hondius has not been identified. WHO noted that while person-to-person transmission is rare, it is possible, and the virus can lead to severe respiratory illness requiring intensive care.
The CDC estimates that more than one-third of patients who develop hantavirus respiratory symptoms die from the infection. There is no specific treatment or cure, and care is supportive.
Dutch authorities are working to repatriate those affected from Cape Verde to the Netherlands, pending approval from local officials. Oceanwide Expeditions said its priority was to ensure that the two symptomatic crew members received urgent medical care.
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