GENEVA, May 4 (Reuters) – Medics are currently working to evacuate two individuals showing symptoms of the deadly hantavirus from a luxury cruise ship off West Africa. The ship is mostly carrying British, American, and...
GENEVA, May 4 (Reuters) – Medics are currently working to evacuate two individuals showing symptoms of the deadly hantavirus from a luxury cruise ship off West Africa. The ship is mostly carrying British, American, and Spanish passengers, according to officials.
About 150 people remain on board after three passengers – a Dutch couple and a German national – died, with other passengers falling ill, including a Briton who has been taken to a hospital in South Africa for treatment.
Hantavirus can lead to severe respiratory illness and is typically spread when particles from rodent droppings or urine become airborne. It is not easily transmitted between humans.
Currently, there are no specific medications to treat hantavirus, so care mainly focuses on supportive measures, such as providing ventilators to patients in critical conditions.
The World Health Organization has stated that the risk to the general public remains low and there is no need for panic or travel bans. However, Cape Verde authorities have denied the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius permission to dock as a safety precaution.
“We’re not just headlines; we’re people with families, lives, and loved ones waiting for us at home,” said Jake Rosmarin, a U.S. travel blogger, in a heartfelt Instagram video from the ship.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, and that is the hardest part,” he added.
‘STRICT PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES’
The operator of the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions, based in the Netherlands, is exploring options for screening and disembarking passengers at the islands of Las Palmas and Tenerife.
They are making arrangements to repatriate two crew members showing symptoms of the virus – one British and one Dutch – along with the body of the German national and a “guest closely associated with the deceased” who is currently asymptomatic.
“Strict precautionary measures are being implemented on board,” the company stated.
The Hondius departed from Ushuaia, Argentina in March for a journey labeled as an Antarctic nature expedition, with prices for cabins ranging from 14,000 to 22,000 euros (approximately $16,000-$25,000).
During its voyage, it passed locations including mainland Antarctica, the Falklands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan, St Helena, and Ascension before arriving in Cape Verdean waters on May 3.
South Africa’s Health Department confirmed that two of the deceased were Dutch nationals: a 70-year-old man who died on St Helena on April 11 and his 69-year-old wife, who collapsed at O.R. Tambo International Airport and died in South Africa.
A British man began feeling ill on April 27 and is now receiving treatment in a private clinic in Johannesburg, while the German victim on the ship passed away on May 2, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.
SOURCE NOT YET CLEAR
Hantavirus typically presents with flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue and fever, one to eight weeks after exposure.
A spokesperson for the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), which is assisting with the outbreak, mentioned that the source of the infection is still uncertain.
“It's possible that rats on the ship transmitted the virus,” they suggested. “But it could also be that people were infected during a stop in South America, potentially via mice.”
Daniel Bausch, a Visiting Professor at the Geneva Graduate Institute, noted some evidence suggesting human-to-human transmission of the Andes Virus, a type of hantavirus found in Argentina and Chile.
“It’s significant that this cruise started its journey in Argentina,” he added. “The good news is… this is unlikely to become a large outbreak.”