Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Evacuates 3 Passengers, Expected To Head Next To Spain

JOHANNESBURG/AMSTERDAM, May 6 (Reuters) – Three people, two seriously ill, were evacuated from a luxury cruise ship that was hit by a ship on Wednesday. deadly hantavirus outbreak They were stranded for days off the coast of Cape Verde, the World Health Organization said.

The MV Hondius, with about 150 people on board, is expected to head for Spain’s Canary Islands, ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said. 3 people have died so far due to the epidemic.

South Africa confirmed that the Andean strain was detected among the victims. virus In rare cases, it can spread between people. Since the beginning of the epidemic, WHO has said that the risk to the general public is low and emphasizes that this remains the case.

The Swiss government said a man who returned to Switzerland after staying as a passenger on the Hondius contracted hantavirus and was being treated in Zurich. It was stated that there was no danger to the general population.

“Three patients with suspected cases of #hantavirus have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to the Netherlands to receive medical care,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on channel X.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that among those evacuated were a Dutchman, a German and a British person. It was stated that they would be transferred to private hospitals in Europe, without providing further details.

Oceanwide Expeditions said two of the evacuees showed acute symptoms. It was stated that the third person was closely linked to the German passenger who died on the ship on May 2. The Dutch ministry said that this person may have contracted the virus.

A Dutch couple on the ship they died tooA British citizen is in intensive care in South Africa.

The case in Switzerland brought the hantavirus outbreak to a total of eight, three of which were confirmed by laboratory tests, WHO said, adding that this helps countries conduct contact tracing to “ensure the monitoring of those potentially exposed and limiting the further spread of the disease.”

Passenger Kasem Hato told Reuters that the ship’s captain informed passengers and those on board were advised to limit close contact with other passengers and use hand sanitizer regularly.

“People are taking the situation seriously but trying not to panic, maintain social distance and wear masks to stay safe,” he said.

“Our days were close to normal, we were waiting for the authorities to find a solution, but morale is high on the ship and we keep ourselves busy with reading books, watching movies, drinking hot drinks and so on.”

Cape Verde was planned to be the ship’s final destination, but the archipelago country off the coast of West Africa did not allow passengers to disembark due to the epidemic.

Late Tuesday, Spain’s Health Ministry said that in accordance with international law and humanitarian principles, WHO and the European Union had accepted a request for Hondius to be allowed to dock in Spain. This will happen in Tenerife, broadcaster TVE, citing health ministry sources, said.

The leader of the Spanish archipelago, Fernando Clavijo, said he opposed the move and requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The decision ultimately rests with the central government, not the regional authorities.

People are usually infected with hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their urine, feces, or saliva. Human-to-human transmission is rare.

But some previous outbreaks of the Andean strain, which has spread throughout South America, including Argentina, where the cruise began in March, have seen limited spread among close contacts.

In a presentation seen by Reuters, it was stated that tests by South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases showed that the Andean strain was the cause of infection in the Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg and the British man who is still hospitalized there.

“This is the only strain known to cause human-to-human transmission, but such transmission is very rare and, as we said before, only occurs due to very close contact,” he said in the presentation.

The South African health ministry identified 62 contacts, including the flight crew and healthcare workers. So far, none of them have been diagnosed with hantavirus.

(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov and Nellie Peyton in Johannesburg, David Latona in Madrid, Bart Meijer in Amsterdam, Madeline Chambers in Berlin, Makini Brice in Paris, Olivia Le Poidevin, Catherine Cartier in Geneva; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Tim Cocks, Thomas Derpinghaus and Gareth Jones)