Dutch authorities would attempt to repatriate two sick people from a cruise ship battling a suspected outbreak of hantavirus that has already claimed three lives, the vessel’s operator said yesterday.
In its first statement on the crisis, Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed it was dealing with “a serious medical situation” on board the MV Hondius, traveling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.
The operator confirmed the three deaths, two on board and one after disembarking the ship.
Photo: AFP
One passenger is in intensive care in Johannesburg and two others “require urgent medical care,” the statement said.
“Dutch authorities have agreed to lead a joint effort to organise the repatriation of the two symptomatic individuals on board MV Hondius from Cape Verde to the Netherlands,” the operator said.
Such a repatriation would depend on several factors, including authorization from local officials in Cape Verde, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it was “busy looking at the possibilities to medically evacuate a few people from the ship.”
“If this can take place, the ministry of foreign affairs will coordinate it,” a spokesperson said.
The ship is currently off the coast of Cape Verde. While local doctors have visited to assess the medical condition of the two sick passengers, no permission has been given to evacuate them to shore.
“Disembarkation and medical screening of all passengers require coordination with local health authorities and we are in close consultation with them,” the operator said.
Hantavirus, an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents, has been confirmed in the passenger currently in intensive care in Johannesburg, it said.
However, it has not yet been established whether the virus caused the three deaths, it said.
There has also been no confirmation of hantavirus in the two symptomatic passengers still requiring attention on the ship.
“The exact cause and any possible connection are under investigation,” the operator said.
On Sunday, the WHO said one case of hantavirus had been confirmed and that there were “five additional suspected cases.”
The UN health agency yesterday said that the risk posed by hantavirus to the wider public remained low.
“The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions,” WHO regional director for Europe Hans Henri Kluge in a statement
“While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response,” the WHO said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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