Cruise ship at centre of suspected hantavirus outbreak blocked from docking in Cape Verde | Infectious diseases
Authorities in Cape Verde say they will not allow a cruise ship believed to be harboring an outbreak of a rare respiratory virus to dock in their port following the deaths of three passengers on board.
Monday’s announcement came hours after global health officials said they were scrambling to investigate an outbreak of hantavirus, a disease that occurs primarily in rodents, on an Atlantic cruise ship.
Hantavirus is suspected of killing three people, including a Dutch married couple, sickening at least two people on board and sending a 69-year-old British tourist to intensive care in South Africa.
Cape Verde health officials said they were monitoring the condition of the ship anchored off the coast and would not allow it to dock “in order to protect national public health.”
Cape Verde said it was in contact with authorities in the Netherlands and the UK regarding the Dutch-flagged ship, which it said was carrying 147 passengers and crew. “This coordination enabled a rapid, safe and technically appropriate response, ensuring clinical monitoring of patients and preparation of all necessary precautionary measures, including possible medical evacuation of patients under observation via air ambulance.”
The MV Hondius, which left Argentina nearly three weeks ago before stopping several times while crossing the Atlantic, hit international headlines on Sunday after the World Health Organization (WHO) said the ship had been involved in a “public health incident”.
A Europe-based official later said the risk to the general public remained low, adding that there was no need for panic or travel restrictions. “To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed and there are five more suspected cases,” the UN health agency said on Sunday. “Three out of the six affected have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.”
It was stated that efforts were being made to medically evacuate the two symptomatic passengers on the ship.
South African officials said the British national was sent to a private health facility in Johannesburg after falling ill near Ascension Island in the Atlantic. “Laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus,” a spokesperson told PA Media.
South Africa’s health department said two of the victims were a Dutch couple. The 70-year-old man complained of fever, headache and stomach aches before he died on the ship. A spokesman for the department said it was trying to confirm reports that his body had been recovered from the British territory of St Helena.
His 69-year-old wife later fainted at the airport while trying to return to the Netherlands; He died in a nearby hospital.
Cruise ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said late Sunday that two crew members on the ship needed urgent medical care. He added that he expects Cape Verde authorities to allow guests who need medical care to be removed from the ship.
It was stated that they were working with Dutch authorities to organize the repatriation of the two crew members. The statement said, “It is planned to include the body of the deceased person in the repatriation to this country, along with a guest who has a close relationship with the deceased,” and noted that the accompanying guest was “not symptomatic.”
He warned that repatriation depends on several officials working together. “This return is dependent on many factors, including the authorization and support of local Cape Verdean health authorities for the transfer of persons requiring medical attention from the MV Hondius.”
The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed the deaths of two Dutch citizens and noted that both “had previously been on a cruise ship near Cape Verde.”
A spokesman said in a statement that because the ship was sailing under the Dutch flag, the Netherlands was coordinating consular assistance for passengers, including those of other nationalities. “The State Department is currently working with all relevant partners to review the possibility of medical evacuation of several passengers,” the statement said.
Hantavirus infections, often spread through the urine or feces of infected rodents, can cause serious respiratory illness and can be fatal.
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases was conducting contact tracing in and around Johannesburg to assess whether people had been exposed to infected travellers.
The UK Foreign Office also said it was closely following reports about the suspected outbreak. “We are in contact with the cruise line and local authorities,” he said.
According to the World Health Organization, hantavirus infections, although rare, can spread between people. The virus family made headlines around the world last year after actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died following a hantavirus infection in New Mexico.
