Health authorities in several countries are rapidly trying to find the infected and contain the epidemic hantavirus after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday that five had been confirmed infection identified among people associated with the cruise ship MV Hondius.
Three people – Dutch a couple and a German national – have died since the ship left Argentina last month. The first suspected case was a 70-year-old Dutch man, who suddenly fell ill on board, with symptoms that included fever, headache, stomach pains and diarrhea, the South African Ministry of Health announced. He died on the ship on April 11.
Meanwhile, a total of 146 people from 23 different countries are still on board under "strict precautions", operator Oceanwide Expeditions said on Thursday.
While at least 30 passengers disembarked on the remote island of Saint Helena in late April, and several critical cases were evacuated by plane to Europe this week, the remaining passengers are due to arrive in Spain's Canary Islands this weekend before being returned to their home countries.
Spanish authorities said in their latest report that the ship will arrive in Tenerife around noon local time on Sunday.
Photo: AP photo/Misper ApawuCruiser MV Hondius
An epidemic like in the case of covid is not expected
Speaking to CNN from the virus-stricken ship, Stephen Kornfeld - a doctor who was on vacation on the cruise - described how he had to jump into action after the crew's doctor fell ill. "Within 12 to 24 hours, it became clear that a number of people were sick and getting worse. And I kind of fell into the role of the ship's doctor," Kornfeld said.
Dr. Kornfeld, who has spent the past five weeks on the ship, said most passengers had little or no contact with those showing symptoms of infection. "The people on the ship are in quarantine and isolation for three, four weeks, so I feel pretty good that most people will get off the ship relatively quickly," he said.
The situation attracted international attention as some passengers disembarked and dispersed to multiple countries before health authorities realized it was an epidemic.
On Thursday, operator Oceanwide Expeditions said it was working to "determine details of all passengers and crew who have embarked and disembarked at various stops on Hondius since March 20," amid concerns about the global spread of the virus.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that while it expects new cases to emerge, it does not foresee a major outbreak anywhere in the world similar to the Covid-19 outbreak and underlined that there is no evidence of a widespread risk of transmission.
The outbreak is linked to the Andean strain of hantavirus, a rare but potentially serious virus that can in some cases spread between people through close contact.
Source: CNN
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