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Three people have died and one remains in intensive care following an outbreak of hantavirus aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was sailing through the Atlantic Ocean from Ushuaia, Argentina, heading to Cabo Verde, as confirmed by the World Health Organization to the BBC and the AFP agency.
The WHO reported one confirmed case of hantavirus and five other suspected cases among the passengers on the ship. "Of the six affected, three have died and one remains in intensive care in South Africa," stated the international organization.
The outbreak was initially detected by South African health authorities, who identified a "severe acute respiratory illness" among the passengers on the vessel.
The first victim was a 70-year-old Dutch man who began to show symptoms during the journey and passed away on board. His body was disembarked on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic.
His wife, 69 years old and also of Dutch nationality, became ill on board and was evacuated in critical condition to South Africa, where she died in a hospital in Johannesburg.
A third victim remained aboard the MV Hondius, according to a source close to the case who spoke with AFP on the condition of anonymity. Additionally, a 69-year-old British citizen was transferred to Johannesburg and is currently in intensive care.
The cruise, operated by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, set sail from Ushuaia on March 20 with approximately 170 passengers and 70 crew members on board, including 57 crew members, 13 guides, and a doctor. Its arrival in Cape Verde was scheduled for this Monday.
According to maritime tracking platforms, the MV Hondius was located yesterday off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. Authorities were assessing the possibility of isolating two other passengers with symptoms in a hospital on the archipelago, while discussions were ongoing about whether the ship would continue its route to the Canary Islands.
The hantavirus is primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents or by inhaling aerosols contaminated with their feces, urine, or saliva. Although under normal circumstances it does not spread between people, there are documented exceptional cases of human-to-human transmission, which makes a closed space like a cruise ship an environment that requires special monitoring.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for the disease, and the mortality rate in cases with respiratory symptoms reaches 38%, according to data from the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.
The most serious outbreak of human-to-human transmission occurred in Epuyén, Chubut, Argentina, between December 2018 and April 2019: 34 confirmed cases and 11 deaths, in the largest recorded outbreak of human-to-human transmission of hantavirus in the world.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed to the BBC that it is in contact with the cruise company and local authorities. "We are closely monitoring reports of a possible hantavirus outbreak on the Hondius cruise," stated the agency.
The WHO stated that it was "helping to coordinate the medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers between member states and the ship's operators, as well as a comprehensive assessment of public health risks." Oceanwide Expeditions has not issued any public comments on the incident.
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