American doctor reveals hell aboard rat virus ship as top lawmaker calls for him and 17 other US citizens on board to be flown home immediately

An American doctor stranded on a hantavirus-infested cruise ship said the luxury holiday turned into panic amid the deadly outbreak.

Dr Stephen Kornfeld boarded the MV Hondius cruise ship in Argentina last month hoping for the trip of a lifetime, but his plans were disrupted when a Dutch couple contracted the virus.

Health officials believe they contracted the disease during a birdwatching trip to a landfill in Argentina. The 70-year-old husband became the first passenger to die from the virus on April 11, while his wife died on April 24.

Kornfeld told CNN that he “fell into the role of being the ship’s doctor” after the ship’s doctor also fell ill with the virus.

So far, infections have been detected in at least eight passengers, including the three who died.

Kornfeld is among 17 Americans stranded on the ship along with 129 other passengers as it headed for the Spanish island of Tenerife.

His situation led local Oregon Congresswoman Janelle Bynum to call for his immediate return to the United States.

The doctor explained how he took action when the first man fell ill and the condition deteriorated rapidly: ‘Within 12 to 24 hours it became clear that a large number of people were falling ill and that their incidence was increasing.’

The cruise ship MV Hondius, which docked in Cape Verde on Monday, contracted the deadly hantavirus last month, with the first passenger dying on April 11 and two more passengers dying.

With Kornfeld and 16 other Americans still trapped on the ship, Oregon Congresswoman Janelle Bynum (pictured) is calling on the Trump administration to do more to help

He said passengers exhibited “a lot of confusion, a lot of weakness” and panic as the mouse-borne hantavirus, which has a mortality rate of about 40 percent, ripped through the ship.

Kornfeld told the ship’s doctor that two more men had become seriously ill within a day and showed ‘a lot of fever, fatigue, flushing, some gastrointestinal problems and some shortness of breath.’

‘The fear with hantavirus is that you can go from seriously ill to critically ill very quickly,’ he said.

His local representative, Bynum, announced that he was in contact with Kornfeld, who accused the Trump administration of ‘abandoning’ US citizens on the ship.

Bynum said Friday that after speaking with Kornfeld and hearing about other U.S. citizens being left on the ship, he felt they were let down by the government in their time of need.

‘They have no guidance or support to enable them to return home safely,’ he said.

Bynum criticized officials for a lack of urgency in resolving the crisis or deploying paramedics to provide support to passengers.

“This outbreak was first made public at least four days ago,” he wrote in an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jay Bhattacharya.

A potential Dutch patient leaves the plane after three medical evacuees from the MV Hondius cruise ship arrived at Schiphol-East airport in Schiphol, Netherlands, on May 6.

‘Despite the seriousness of the situation, my office has seen no evidence that there was an adequate federal response to protect the Americans on board or ensure their safe return home.’

In a video sent to

The hantavirus outbreak has sparked panic among health officials over the potential for the deadly virus to spread, after it was revealed dozens of passengers were allowed to leave the ship without being informed of the risks.

Following the death of the Dutch couple last month, a German woman died of the virus on May 2.

At least two more victims are in critical condition in hospitals in South Africa and Switzerland, and health officials are monitoring dozens more who left the ship or may have come into contact with infected people around the world.

Hantavirus can have an incubation period of more than a month before patients begin to show symptoms, leading to fears that infection rates could skyrocket if the virus is not monitored effectively.

Kornfeld stated that he was relieved that those who were already showing symptoms got off the ship and started receiving treatment, and said that hantavirus could be a virus that could result in disaster if it gets out of control.

‘What happens with hantavirus, the ultimate ability to survive really depends on your ability to get critical care at the right time. “This cannot be possible on a boat,” he said.

Ruhi Çenet, one of the passengers on the ship where the hantavirus outbreak occurred, said that after the first person died on the journey, customers were not “well informed” by the ship captain about the risks they faced.

Cenet filmed the captain announcing to the ship that a man had died on April 11, saying: ‘As tragic as it is, we believe it was due to natural causes.’ Authorities say man died from deadly hantavirus outbreak on ship

Amid allegations that the cruise ship failed to contain the deadly virus before allowing passengers to disembark, Turkish vlogger Ruhi Çenet shared footage of captain Jan Dobrogowski reassuring passengers following the death of the first Dutch man.

The footage showed the captain briefing passengers to share the news that the man had died on April 11, but said the death was due to ‘natural causes’ and there was no threat to others.

“As tragic as it is, we believe this was due to natural causes,” Dobrogowski said. ‘The doctor also told me that the health problems he was struggling with were not contagious, so the ship was safe.

‘The ship is safe. This gentleman unfortunately succumbed to natural causes. And as I said, we are doing our best to move forward safely and with dignity.’

Cenet criticized the captain for not understanding the seriousness of the situation.

“It turns out we weren’t well informed,” he told NBC News.

In response to Cenet’s video, the ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said it was ‘aware’ of the announcement. ‘We want to clarify this video,’ the company said.

While the captain spoke to the passengers, the company said: ‘The cause of death of this person was unknown.’

The Argentine government’s leading hypothesis is that a deceased Dutch couple contracted hantavirus while birdwatching at a garbage dump in Ushuaia, Argentina. Above is a garbage area in the city (file photo)

‘There was no one else on board showing symptoms. There were no signs of the virus or contamination on board at the time of the announcement. ‘The case was believed to be isolated following medical review.’

The company added that proper procedure was followed to notify all guests and crew on board MV Hondius.

‘Health, safety and maritime standards for the proper management and reporting of a death at sea have been complied with.’