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The total number of cases in a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard the luxury MV Hondius cruise ship has risen to seven — as roughly 150 passengers have been ordered to stay put in West African waters, according to authorities.
As of Monday, seven cases, including two laboratory-confirmed cases and five suspected cases, have been identified in the suspected outbreak of the rare, rodent-borne illness on the Dutch cruise liner, according to the World Health Organization.
The cases include three passengers who died, one critically ill patient, and three people reporting mild symptoms, WHO said.
The passengers reported illness onset between April 6 and 28 and experienced symptoms including fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, rapid progression to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and shock, officials added.
“Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations,” WHO said. “Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew.”
The doomed vessel, which is carrying 17 Americans, was on a weeks-long polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica when trouble boarded early last month.
The fatalities include a 70-year-old Dutch man who died on April 11 after developing a fever, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
His 69-year-old wife died weeks later as his body was being transferred to South Africa. Her blood later tested positive for hantavirus, officials said.
A third passenger, identified as a German national, died on the ship on Saturday, where his body remains, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.
A British man was also evacuated to South Africa on April 27 and tested positive for the virus. He is now in critical condition and isolated in intensive care, health officials added.
Officials are attempting to coordinate the evacuation of two ill crew members — one British and one Dutch — who require urgent medical care and have begun presenting respiratory symptoms.
Dr. Ann Lindstrand, a WHO official in Cape Verde, told the Associated Press that there is an additional possible case of someone with fever symptoms. Health officials are still assessing the individual.
Cape Verde’s Health Ministry ordered that, for now, the luxury cruise cannot dock and must stay in open waters close to shore over health concerns.
The West African country, meanwhile, has sent in a medical team of two doctors, a nurse, and a laboratory specialist over three trips to provide care on the ship, Lindstrand said.
“It’s been very tricky for Cape Verdean authorities,” Lindstrand said. “What they have to deal with is a public health event. And of course, they have been thinking about the protection of the population here.”
The harrowing ordeal has effectively trapped the 88 remaining passengers and 59 crew members onboard — who have been urged to practice “maximal physical distancing” and stay in their cabins as much as possible.
Jake Rosmarin, a travel influencer from Boston on board the ship, broke down sobbing over “very real” fears of a major outbreak after the cruise was refused permission to dock.
“I am currently on board the MV Hondius. What’s happening right now is very real for all of us here,” he shared a tearful video on Monday.
The virus spreads mostly by inhaling airborne particles from infected rodent droppings, saliva, or blood.
However, a rare form of the virus — seen only in the Andes Mountains of Argentina and Chile — could spread from human to human.
Investigators are now rushing to probe what is causing the infections — and whether the other passengers and crew members are at risk.
Health officials have urged people not to panic, as the WHO coordinates a multicountry response to contain further spread of the potentially deadly disease.
“While severe in some cases, it is not easily transmitted between people,” Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said in a statement Monday. “The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions.”
Hantavirus has no specific cure, and treatment focuses on supportive care, including ventilators for severe cases. Early medical intervention can increase the chances of survival.
With Post wires
English (US)