Plans underway to evacuate 2 passengers from cruise ship struck by hantavirus

Medical personnel testament focalize on evacuating ii sick persons from a sail ship come to by a fatal hantavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization said at a briefing on Tuesday.

The Dutch-flagged MV Hondius ship is currently ​held in the ⁠Atlantic near Cape Verde. WHO officials said that while there may be some human-to-human transmission ​happening between close ​contacts on board the ship, the virus does not spread as readily as influenza or COVID-19.

"When we do see couples that have spent a long time together and both of them are infected, either they had a common source infection and one incubated quicker than the other, or one infected the other," said Maria Van Kerkhove of WHO.

However as a precaution, passengers aboard the Hondius have been instructed to remain inside their cabins, the WHO said, adding that the incubation period can last several weeks, meaning some people may not yet be showing symptoms.

Cruise ship hantavirus: Doctor explains the risk

The hantavirus typically spreads to humans from infected rodents and only rarely passes between humans. Thousands of cases are reported globally each year and limited human-to-human transmission of the Andes virus, a species of hantavirus found in Argentina and Chile, "has been reported in community settings involving close and prolonged ‌contact," WHO has said.

What is hantavirus?

Epidemiological ⁠investigations were under way to determine the source of the outbreak, the WHO said. Medical teams in Cape Verde are evaluating the patients and collecting additional specimens for testing.

Van Kerkhove said this is the first hantavirus cluster known to have occurred among a ship's passengers, but the working presumption at this point is that the first infection occurred off the vessel. The ship's operator has not reported any rodent infestations, though disinfection measures are taking place.

The luxury cruise set off from the southern tip of Argentina in late March and has visited the Antarctic ​peninsula and South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha — some of the most remote islands on the planet.

The seven confirmed or suspected cases include three people who have died — a Dutch couple and a German national — and a British national ⁠who is now in intensive care in a South Africa hospital.

Van Kerkhove said in addition to the two people expected to receive medical evacuation to the Netherlands, a person who reported a mild fever is considered a presumptive, asymptomatic case.

Van Kerkhove stressed that it "would not be the case" that everyone on board was at the same level of risk.

There is no specific treatment to combat hantavirus though respiratory issues are commonly reported among patients, meaning supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation could be required.

The ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, has said there is no definitive plan yet for the disembarkation of the ​remaining guests on board. It only confirmed that this would not be done in Cape Verde.

A spokesperson for Spain's Health Ministry told Reuters they had ⁠not yet received a request to dock at the Canary Islands.

The Dutch couple who were the first to die had travelled in South America, including Argentina, before they boarded the cruise ship.

The man died on April 11. His body remained on board until April 24, ​when it "was disembarked on St. Helena, with his wife ⁠accompanying the repatriation," Oceanwide Expeditions said.

His wife, who had gastrointestinal symptoms when she was disembarked, later deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg. She died upon arrival at the emergency department on April 26, the WHO said, adding that contact tracing was under way for passengers on that flight.

The Hondius left Ushuaia in southern Argentina in March, according ⁠to company ⁠documentation, on a voyage marketed as an Antarctic nature expedition, ​with berth prices ranging from 14,000 to 22,000 euros ($22,000 to $39,000 Cdn).

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