Luxury cruise ship “MV Hondius” has been hit by a hantavirus outbreak, currently stranded off the coast of Cape Verde. Various countries around the world are currently urgently tracking down passengers who have already disembarked from the ship to prevent the spread of the virus.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the outbreak has caused the deaths of three individuals, including a Dutch couple and a German citizen. Additionally, five more individuals are suspected to have been infected, including one Swiss citizen. WHO confirmed on Thursday that out of these eight cases, five (including three fatalities) have tested positive for the hantavirus in laboratory tests.
The luxury cruise ship was originally scheduled to carry out an Antarctic and South Atlantic polar voyage from Argentina. The cruise operator and Dutch officials stated on Thursday that at least 24 passengers had left the ship without undergoing contact tracing, following the death of the first passenger on board nearly two weeks ago, including six Americans.
WHO had previously mentioned that health authorities only confirmed a passenger onboard was infected with the hantavirus on May 2. The British man disembarked in Santa Helena after a 3-day stopover and was evacuated to South Africa from Ascension Island. He is currently receiving intensive care treatment locally in South Africa.
Currently, 12 countries from 4 continents worldwide are tracking passengers who travelled on the ship, including the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Turkey, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions, based in the Netherlands, stated on Thursday that at least 29 passengers from 12 countries disembarked in Santa Helena on April 24, with 2 individuals of unknown nationality. Meanwhile, the Dutch Foreign Ministry noted approximately 40 individuals disembarked, including a Dutch man who passed away on the ship on April 11, with his wife departing the following day, flying to South Africa and eventually passing away before returning to the Netherlands.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines mentioned that due to the deterioration of the patient’s health, they transferred her off the plane on April 25 in Johannesburg. According to reports from RTL Radio, a flight attendant who had contact with the patient is showing suspicious symptoms and is currently hospitalized in Amsterdam.
The Netherlands’ Ministry of Health confirmed that a female is undergoing testing in the hospital but did not confirm her occupational status due to privacy reasons.
Hantavirus can cause fatal lung disease, typically transmitted by rodents, but this strain has been confirmed to be the Andean strain, which can be transmitted person-to-person through close contact. Symptoms generally appear 1 to 8 weeks after virus exposure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States are closely monitoring 17 American passengers aboard the cruise ship, especially the 6 individuals who disembarked in Santa Helena and returned to the US, currently under monitoring in Georgia, Arizona, and California.
The CDC released a statement noting, “The State Department is leading interagency coordination efforts, including direct communication with passengers and diplomatic coordination.” They emphasized that the current risk to the American public is extremely low.
Three Canadians who disembarked in Santa Helena on April 24 and returned to their home country are currently under monitoring and self-isolation. Two are from Ontario and the other from Quebec, who was on the same flight as an infected individual. Sonia Bélanger, the Minister of Health in Quebec, confirmed that due to the lack of close contact, the risk of transmission is very low.
Health officials in the UK mentioned that 2 passengers who boarded the cruise but flew back to the UK midway are undergoing self-isolation without any symptoms. The UK Health Security Agency stated that “a few” individuals in contact with these 2 passengers are also self-isolating without any symptoms, while other close contacts are being traced.
Santa Helena is a remote British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, with volcanic landscapes scattered across the island. Authorities on the island mentioned that they are monitoring a few individuals considered to be “high-risk contacts,” informing them of the need for a 45-day quarantine.
On Thursday, Singaporean health authorities revealed they are closely monitoring 2 returning males. After disembarking in Santa Helena, they flew to South Africa and then returned to Singapore. Officials noted that the two arrived in Singapore at different times, currently isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases for hantavirus testing. One of them is experiencing a runny nose, while the other shows no symptoms.
South African authorities are also diligently tracking down close contacts of the passengers who disembarked earlier. Their investigation focuses on the flight from Santa Helena to Johannesburg on April 25, the second day after passengers disembarked in Johannesburg. The Dutch cruise passenger who later died in South Africa briefly boarded that flight, according to official sources.
It is currently unclear how many of the 88 individuals on that flight from Santa Helena to South Africa were from the cruise ship. Such flights from Santa Helena to South Africa are infrequent, typically only once a week.
There were reports on Wednesday that a man in Switzerland tested positive for the hantavirus, having disembarked in Santa Helena and flown back to Switzerland, although his specific whereabouts remain unclear.
Furthermore, France is monitoring a French citizen who had contact with an infected individual. The Argentine Ministry of Health plans to conduct rodent sampling analysis at the starting point of the cruise in Ushuaia. WHO mentioned that Argentina will deliver 2,500 hantavirus diagnostic kits to labs in five countries.
The Argentine Ministry of Health stated that last year, 28 individuals died from hantavirus in the country, exceeding the average annual death rate of 15 individuals over the previous five years. Additionally, the Ministry of Health mentioned that nearly a third of cases last year ended in death.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) stated that there are still over 140 passengers and crew on the “MV Hondius,” and on Wednesday night, the ship set sail for Spain, expected to arrive at Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday.
Currently, the remaining individuals on the ship show no symptoms. Upon arrival in Spain, non-Spanish passengers in good health will be repatriated to their countries, while 14 Spanish passengers will undergo isolation at a military hospital in Madrid. Previously, three critically ill patients were evacuated to the Netherlands and Germany for treatment.
(This article referenced reports from the Associated Press and Reuters)