Hantavirus outbreak prompts cruise ship evacuation to the Netherlands off Cape Verde

Health authorities evacuated three people from the MV Hondius cruise ship on Wednesday. The World Health Organisation said two patients had hantavirus and one case was suspected. The ship stayed off Cape Verde with almost 150 people on board. Passengers waited to sail to Spain’s Canary Islands over three to four days.

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The Dutch foreign ministry said the evacuees were a 41-year-old Dutch national, a 56-year-old British national and a 65-year-old German national. The group was due to reach specialised hospitals in Europe. Associated Press footage showed health workers in protective gear boarding the ship. An air ambulance later departed.

Hantavirus outbreak details and deaths on MV Hondius

The WHO said three people have died and one body remained on the ship. Officials recorded eight cases linked to the voyage. Five cases were confirmed by laboratory tests, the agency said. Oceanwide Expeditions said two evacuees remained in serious condition. Spain’s health ministry said the ship’s British doctor improved after being seriously ill.

Authorities said the positive tests showed the Andes virus. It is a hantavirus type found in South America, mainly Argentina and Chile. Hantavirus often spreads after inhaling contaminated rodent droppings, the WHO said. Person-to-person spread can happen, but it is rare. The WHO said the risk to the wider public was low.

"This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease,\" the WHO’s top epidemic expert, Maria Van Kerkhove, said. Van Kerkhove said most people will never face exposure. Two Dutch infectious diseases experts were joining the ship, Van Kerkhove said. Van Kerkhove added that access to clinical care is important.

Van Kerkhove said some patients can develop severe acute respiratory distress. Such cases may need oxygen or mechanical ventilation. Van Kerkhove said the incubation period can be one to six weeks. Van Kerkhove said it can sometimes be longer. The WHO said it has never seen a hantavirus outbreak on a ship.

Hantavirus contact tracing in Europe and Africa

European and African health teams were tracing possible contacts from earlier stops. Switzerland said a former passenger who tested positive was treated in a Zurich hospital. Spokesperson Simon Ming said the passenger left during the St. Helena stop. Officials did not know the travel route to Switzerland. The patient’s wife had no symptoms and self-isolated.

Swiss officials said there is currently no risk to the public. The office said it was checking if the patient met others. South African authorities earlier reported two passengers transferred there tested positive. One, a British man, was in intensive care. The other collapsed and died in South Africa, officials said.

South African officials said the body of a Dutch man was removed at St. Helena. Officials said the Dutch man was suspected as the first case onboard. Authorities said the wife later flew to South Africa. The wife collapsed at Johannesburg airport and died. A British man was evacuated at Ascension Island and taken to South Africa.

South Africa’s health ministry said it traced 42 of 62 possible contacts. The ministry said contacts included health workers. All 42 tested negative for hantavirus, the ministry said. Officials still needed to trace 20 people. The group included five possible flight passengers and flight crew members, the ministry said.

Hantavirus source investigation linked to Ushuaia tour

Two Argentine officials said investigators focused on a Dutch couple. The officials said the hypothesis was that the couple got infected in Ushuaia. The pair were bird-watching before boarding, the officials said. The couple visited a landfill during the tour, they said. The officials said rodents may have caused the exposure.

The Argentine officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials said they were not authorised to brief the media. Authorities earlier said Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego province had never reported a hantavirus case. The ship left South America on April 1. The route later included Antarctica and several remote Atlantic islands.

The itinerary included South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and Ascension. Spain’s health ministry said passengers would keep isolating in cabins. Officials said those still on board had no symptoms. The ministry said arrival in the Canary Islands would not pose a public risk. Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo requested a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

With inputs from PTI