Cruise ship hantavirus latest: Boat to sail from Cape Verde to Canary Islands with passengers trapped on board – UK Times

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, from the WHO, said: “As of today, seven individuals of the 147 passengers and crew have been reported ill, sadly, three have died.

“One patient is in intensive care in South Africa, although we understand that this patient is improving while two patients are still on board the ship and are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands for treatment.”

She added: “The initial patient and his wife joined the boat in Argentina.

“And with the timing of the incubation period of hantavirus, which can be anywhere from one to six weeks, our assumption is that they were infected off the ship, perhaps doing some activities there.

“This was an expedition boat, and many of the people on board were doing bird watching, they were doing a lot of things with wildlife.

“So our assumption is they were infected off the boat and then joined the cruise.

“However, we do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that’s happening among the really close contacts – the husband and wife, people who have shared cabins, etc.

“So again, our assumption is that has happened, and that’s why we are operating and working with the ship to make sure that anyone who is symptomatic, anyone caring for patients, is wearing full personal protective equipment.

“The medical personnel who have boarded the boat have brought additional PPE as well.

“But hantaviruses don’t typically transmit that way – it’s really a rodent infection.”

Mark Fielder, professor in medical microbiology at Kingston University London, said: “With the current understanding of the ongoing infection and the likelihood that stringent infection control measures are being implemented on board the vessel, it is likely that further ongoing transmission will be limited.

“The isolation of infected patients, regular handwashing, monitoring of close contacts, and the application of infection control measures will all be critical to limiting and halting onward spread of the disease.

“Once the ship docks it is likely that arrangements will be made for the remaining passengers and crew to be medically assessed and then be taken into a period of quarantine and monitoring to ensure the control of any infection and provide early medical intervention where needed.”

Three people have died amid the suspected outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, which departed Ushuaia in southern Argentina on March 20 and was due to arrive in Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, on May 4.

Travel blogger Jake Rosmarin, who has over 44,000 followers on Instagram, was aboard the ship when the suspected outbreak, a rare infection passed from rodents to humans, typically through their urine, droppings or saliva, struck. The infection can be fatal as it has no cure.

“I am currently on board the MV Hondius, and what’s happening right now is very real for all of us here,” Rosmarin said in a video shared Monday on Instagram. “We’re not just a story, we’re not just headlines. We’re people. People with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.”

“There’s a lot of uncertainty, and that’s the hardest part,” Rosmarin added.

WHO said Tuesday that it’s looking at seven cases in all — three people who have died, one critically ill passenger who was previously taken off the ship, and three onboard reporting mild symptoms.

Two of the cases — a woman who died and the evacuated man — tested positive for hantavirus.

A Dutch man was the first death, on April 11. His body was taken off the vessel nearly two weeks later, on the British territory of St. Helena, some 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) off the African coast, according to South Africa’s Department of Health.

His wife traveled by plane from St. Helena to South Africa; she collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and died at a hospital on April 26, according to WHO and the South African Department of Health.

The ship sailed on to Ascension Island, an isolated Atlantic outpost about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the north, where a sick British man was taken off the ship and evacuated first to Ascension Island and then to South Africa by plane. He is in intensive care in a South African hospital, according to WHO.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness, said the organization is investigating possible human-to-human transmission on the ship, and that officials suspect the first infected person likely contracted the virus before boarding. She said officials have been told there are no rats on board.

Officials in Argentina — where hantavirus led to 28 deaths nationwide last year, according to the health ministry — said they confirmed no passengers had symptoms when the Hondius departed. Symptoms can appear up to eight weeks after exposure, officials have said.

In South Africa, authorities said they have started contact tracing — another practice used extensively in the coronavirus pandemic. But officials have emphasised that the chance of a major public health threat is low.

An American travel blogger stuck aboard the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship defended the vessel’s cleanliness, stating that the ship is “maintained to a very high standard.”

Three people have died, and several others have fallen ill on the MV Hondius following the outbreak of hantavirus, a rare, rodent-borne illness. Global health authorities suspect the first person caught the virus before boarding the ship, and later transmitted it to other passengers.

Only two cases of the virus, which is passed from rodents to humans through their droppings, have been confirmed by health authorities, and officials maintain that the risk to global health is low.

Travel blogger Jake Rosmarin has been documenting his time aboard the illness-stricken ship, telling The Independent in a statement that aside from the two confirmed cases, the other passengers on board are “doing well” and remain “in good spirits.”

Hantavirus infections, which are usually spread by infected rodents’ urine or faeces, can lead to severe respiratory illness and can sometimes be fatal.

While it is rare, hantavirus infections can spread between people, according to the WHO.

There is no specific treatment or cure, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive medical attention early.

The Spanish Health Ministry confirmed on Tuesday evening it would ⁠receive the MV Hondius in the Canary Islands “in accordance with international ⁠law and humanitarian ​principles.”

Once ⁠in the Canary Islands, medical ⁠teams would examine and treat ​all ⁠passengers and ‌crew and transfer them to their countries, the ‌statement said.

“The World ‌Health Organization has explained that Cape ⁠Verde is unable to carry out this operation,” the health ministry said.

“The Canary Islands are the closest location with ‌the necessary capabilities. Spain ​has a moral ‌and legal ⁠obligation to assist these ⁠people, among whom are ‌also ​several Spanish citizens.”