A suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has left three people de@d, including an elderly couple, and at least three others ill, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and South Africa’s health authorities.
In a statement to The Associated Press, WHO said an investigation was underway but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the U.N. health agency said, and it was working with authorities to evacuate two others with symptoms from the ship.
The Dutch company that operates the cruise said the ship was now sitting off the coast of Cape Verde, an island nation off Africa’s west coast, and local authorities were assisting but had not allowed anyone to disembark. It said the two sick people on board requiring urgent medical care were crew members.
Two of those who d!ed were a husband and wife aged 70 and 69 from the Netherlands.
The South African health ministry said the man fell ill on board the ship and d!ed on the island of Saint Helena, while his wife died at a hospital in Kempton Park, a city in South Africa.
A British man, 69, who became ill on the ship was taken to a private health facility in Johannesburg, according to the South African health ministry, which said he tested positive for hantavirus.
Hantavirus is usually caught through contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents.
Hantaviruses cause two serious syndromes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe disease that affects the lungs, and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, a severe disease that affects the kidneys.
While rare, hantavirus infections could be spread between people, the WHO said. There was no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention could increase the chance of survival.
“WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean,” the organisation said. “Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.”
