Three die in suspected hantavirus outbreak on Atlantic cruise ship | Health News

Three of six passengers sickened by the suspected rodent-borne virus have died, and one is in intensive care, the WHO says.

Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, with at least one confirmed to have suffered from hantavirus, a rare disease transmitted to humans by rodents.

Health authorities are now investigating a suspected outbreak of the virus on the MV Hondius, which is sailing from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.

The World Health Organization said in a statement on Sunday that one case had been confirmed and at least five other passengers were suspected of being infected.

“Of the six affected individuals, three have died, and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa,” the WHO said in a statement.

“Detailed investigations are underway, including further laboratory tests and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support is being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.”

The WHO added that it was “facilitating coordination between countries” to evacuate the two other passengers showing symptoms of the infection.

Hantavirus, a rare disease transmitted to humans through the feces or urine of infected rodents, can be fatal in severe cases and cause hemorrhagic fever.

Infected couple among casualties

South Africa’s national health department said earlier on Sunday there had been an outbreak of a “severe acute respiratory illness,” which had killed at least two people, and that a third person was in intensive care in Johannesburg, according to the AFP news agency.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale, confirmed that the patient being treated in Johannesburg tested positive for hantavirus.

A 70-year-old was the first to develop symptoms. He died on the ship, with his body now being held on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic, the spokesman said.

The patient’s 69-year-old wife also fell ill and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital, he added.

Mohale told AFP that the authorities had not confirmed the nationalities of the deceased. But the person in intensive care was reported by AFP to be a 69-year-old Briton.