Countries track passengers of virus-hit cruise ship

Following an outbreak on a cruise ship, countries around the world are trying to prevent the further spread of hantavirus by tracking those who got off the ship before the virus was detected and those who have been in close contact with them since then.

Three people, a Dutch couple and a German citizen, died in the epidemic on MV Hondius.

The World Health Organization said five people in total were confirmed to have the virus and three other suspected cases were also confirmed.

Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents, but in rare cases it can also be transmitted from person to person.

The ship’s operator said all passengers who disembarked at St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship stopped on April 24, had been contacted.

These included people from at least 12 countries, including seven UK citizens and six US citizens.

The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came at the beginning of May.

WHO reiterated that although the strain of Andean virus found in many victims can be transmitted between humans in rare cases, the risk to the public is low.

“This is not coronavirus, this is a very different virus,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic management, said at a press conference.

“This is not the same situation we had six years ago.”

The WHO said it was working on step-by-step guidance for dozens of passengers remaining on the Canary Islands-bound ship to arrive on Saturday or Sunday, and for passengers to disembark and return home.

None of these passengers currently have any symptoms.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was monitoring the situation closely, adding that the risk to the public was extremely low at that time.

Authorities said a French citizen had been in contact with a person who became ill but showed no symptoms.

Oceanwide Expeditions said it was working to identify details of all passengers and crew who boarded and disembarked the ship at various stops since March 20.

The Dutch couple who died and are believed to be the first hantavirus cases of this outbreak boarded the ship on April 1.

Dutch airline KLM said it removed the Dutch woman from the plane in Johannesburg on April 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition.

He died before reaching the Netherlands.

A KLM stewardess who had been in contact with him was taken to a hospital in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms of hantavirus, according to broadcaster RTL.

Dutch authorities told broadcaster NOS that crew and passengers who helped the dying Dutch woman were called in for health checks every day.

Three patients were taken from the ship on Wednesday.

Two of them were taken to a hospital in the Netherlands, while another was transferred to Germany for medical care.

Expedition guide Martin Anstee, one of two people evacuated from hospital in the Netherlands, told them he was “in good shape” but “there are still a lot of tests that need to be done,” according to Sky News.

The Düsseldorf University Clinic, which treated the German patient, said he was not a confirmed case but was a contact and was being tested.

A man who traveled on a cruise ship in Switzerland and was hospitalized tested positive for the infection, officials said.

Danish health authorities said a Danish citizen who was in Hondius returned home and was advised to self-isolate as a precaution.

In Canada, officials said two Canadians on the ship returned home before the outbreak was detected and another Canadian was on the same flight with a symptomatic person.

All three are currently asymptomatic.