Three passengers from a Dutch polar cruise ship have died after a possible outbreak of the hantavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Sunday to the French news agency AFP. Three more passengers have become ill.
Two Dutch passengers were also among the dead, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to ANP. The nationality of the third deceased is still unknown.
The hantavirus infection was confirmed in the laboratory in one of the passengers who fell ill, the WHO reports. It concerns a 69-year-old British man, who has been admitted to intensive care in Johannesburg. A spokesperson for the South African health ministry told AFP.
The hantavirus is transmitted to humans by rodents such as mice and rats through urine, feces or saliva. It can cause high fever, breathing and heart problems. In some cases the disease has a fatal outcome.
According to the WHO, a “coordinated international response by public health authorities” is underway, the French news agency reported. Although very rarea variant of the virus can be transmitted from person to person. An outbreak requires “careful monitoring of patients,” the WHO said.
MV Hondius
Arctic cruise ship MV Hondius was en route from the city of Ushuaia – in the southernmost tip of Argentina – to Cape Verde when its passengers became ill. One of the Dutch people died on board in mid-April, the other Dutch person was transferred to South Africa, where the person died, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
According to the South African spokesperson, it concerns a married couple, a 70-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman. The man’s body is currently believed to be on the British island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. His wife is said to have died in a hospital in Johannesburg. The Dutch ministry could not confirm this on Sunday evening.
The cruise ship is now moored off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, according to public data from the website MarineTraffic. It ship can accommodate 170 passengers. The shipping company, Oceanwide Expeditions from Vlissingen, has not yet responded to the possible outbreak.
