WHO Confirms Two Hantavirus Cases, Five Suspected Infections on Cruise Ship Stranded off Africa
Al Jazeera Staff
The WHO confirmed two hantavirus cases and five suspected infections on the MV Hondius cruise ship stranded near Cape Verde. Three people have died, one is in critical condition, and three have mild symptoms. The risk of community spread is low, and Spain is preparing to receive the vessel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on May 4 that it had confirmed two hantavirus infections and five suspected cases aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, stranded in the Atlantic Ocean near the Cape Verde archipelago. Of the seven cases, three people have died, one is in critical condition, and three have mild symptoms, according to a WHO statement released late May 3.
At least 147 passengers and crew remain stranded on the MV Hondius. The voyage, which departed from Argentina in March, primarily carries citizens from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Spain. The deceased include a Dutch couple and a German citizen. One British citizen has been evacuated from the ship and is being treated in South Africa.
WHO stressed that the risk of community transmission remains low because hantavirus rarely spreads from person to person. The agency is working to trace individuals on a flight from Saint Helena Island to Johannesburg that the Dutch woman, who later died of hantavirus, had taken.
The ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said the atmosphere aboard remains calm and that they are working to screen and bring passengers ashore. The ship may dock at Las Palmas or Tenerife in Spain. WHO confirmed that Spain is ready to receive the ship to conduct an epidemiological investigation, disinfect the entire vessel, and assess risks for remaining passengers.
Dutch authorities are also preparing for medical evacuations of two symptomatic individuals aboard. The first case was a Dutch man who died on April 11 as the ship headed for Tristan da Cunha. His body was taken to St. Helena Island on April 24; his wife accompanied him back and developed gastrointestinal symptoms, later dying upon arrival at an emergency room in Johannesburg on April 26.
According to maritime data, the MV Hondius had visited some of the most remote places on Earth, including Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. Hantavirus is primarily transmitted through contact with urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents. Symptoms include fever, gastrointestinal distress, rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and shock.
