The World Health Organization has confirmed a second laboratory-proven case of hantavirus linked to the m/v Hondius cruise ship currently held in quarantine off Cape Verde. In addition to the confirmed cases, five other individuals are being treated as suspected cases, following a series of respiratory emergencies and deaths that began in April.
The confirmed cases involve a female passenger who had close contact with a man who died on April 11, and a British national who was evacuated to a hospital in Johannesburg, where he remains in critical but stable condition.
Among the suspected cases are two individuals who died on April 11 and May 2, as well as three people currently on board displaying gastrointestinal symptoms and high fevers. Two of the symptomatic individuals are members of the ship’s crew.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the operator of the vessel, is currently coordinating with health authorities to urgently evacuate two crew members requiring medical assistance for respiratory issues.
Read more about this topic: Hantavirus: WHO experts believe Hondius outbreak originated outside the vessel (with videos)
The ship originally departed from Argentina on March 20 for a wildlife observation tour and was carrying 149 people from 23 different nationalities. While the situation on board is reported as calm, the remaining passengers and crew must stay on the vessel until a safe port of disembarkation, such as Las Palmas or Tenerife, is officially authorized.
Hantaviruses are typically transmitted to humans through the inhalation of dust contaminated by the waste of infected rodents. While most variants do not spread between people, the WHO is investigating whether this specific outbreak involved environmental exposure or person-to-person transmission, the latter of which has been documented in certain South American strains like the Andes virus.
Despite the severity of the symptoms reported—which include rapid progression to pneumonia and acute respiratory syndrome—the WHO currently assesses the global risk to the general population as low.
