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A hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius has resulted in three deaths and at least six confirmed cases among passengers and crew, according to the World Health Organisation.
The UN health body said two deaths have been confirmed as hantavirus-related, while a third is listed as a “probable” case. Among living patients, six cases have been confirmed, and a seventh is listed as “probable.”
Several countries have reported nationals infected, including the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, France, and the United States.
Netherlands: Two dead, one confirmed
Two Dutch nationals from the ship have died from the virus, and a third has been confirmed to have contracted it.
A Dutch couple who travelled around South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1, were the first fatalities. The husband, 70, showed symptoms on April 6 and died on April 11.
His body was taken off the ship during its call at Saint Helena Island between April 22 and 24. No hantavirus test was carried out, and he is considered a “probable case,” according to the WHO.
His 69-year-old wife left the ship at Saint Helena feeling unwell. Her health deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg on April 25, and she died in hospital a day later. Hantavirus was confirmed on May 4.
The third Dutch case is the ship’s doctor, who reported symptoms on April 30. A test showed him positive for the Andes strain on May 6. He was evacuated to the Netherlands when the ship stopped off Cape Verde and is stable while being treated in isolation.
Britain: Two confirmed, one probable
Two British nationals have been confirmed as infected, and one is classed as a “probable” case.
One British man became ill on April 24 and was evacuated three days later from Ascension Island to South Africa, where he was placed in intensive care. Hantavirus was confirmed on May 2, and the Andes strain was confirmed through sequencing.
A second British man working as a guide on the ship reported symptoms on April 27 and tested positive on May 6. He was evacuated to the Netherlands on May 7 from Cape Verde and is stable while being treated in isolation.
A third British man left the Hondius on April 14 on the South Atlantic archipelago of Tristan da Cunha and was treated in isolation there. He reported symptoms on April 28.
The WHO listed him as a “probable case” pending laboratory results. British paratroopers and medics parachuted onto the island to deliver urgent medical supplies.
Germany: One dead
A German woman who had a fever on April 28 and later developed pneumonia died on May 2 on board the ship. A post-mortem sample was sent to the Netherlands, where tests confirmed infection by the Andes virus.
Her body remained on board the Hondius, which was scheduled to leave for the Netherlands from the Spanish island of Tenerife late Monday.
Switzerland: One confirmed
A Swiss man disembarked from the Hondius in St Helena on April 22 and flew to Switzerland on April 27 via South Africa and Qatar. He started suffering symptoms on May 1 after arrival in Switzerland. He was treated in isolation and tested positive for the Andes virus on May 5.
France: One confirmed
A French woman repatriated from the Hondius felt unwell late on May 10 and tested positive for hantavirus, France’s Health Minister Stephanie Rist said. She added that the woman’s condition worsened during the night.
United States: Two cases
One of 17 American citizens repatriated from the ship tested “mildly PCR positive” for the virus while another had “mild symptoms,” the US Department of Health and Human Services said on May 10.
The passengers are being taken to a specialised centre in Nebraska, while the person with mild symptoms will be taken to a second centre.
