The MV Hondius cruise ship is currently experiencing a suspected hantavirus outbreak.
With four British crew members, there are said to be some 19 Brits listed as passengers with two among those taken ill.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has assured: “The risk to the wider public remains very low, protecting the British people is our number one priority.”
Medical evacuations are set to take place with the ship currently off the coast of Cape Verde while other passengers are confined to their cabins. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that ‘disinfection and other public health measures’ are being carried out.
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Three people have died on the cruise ship, with two of the identified seven suspected cases confirmed as hantavirus. While officials say the risk to the global population is ‘low’, there is said to be two likely causes of the suspected outbreak.
Two possible grim causes
Hantavirus is primarily transmitted to humans though infected rodents’ urine, saliva or faeces. While it’s rare, it can also be spread through rodent bites or scratches.
This is the usual cause of hantavirus – infected rats or mice – but WHO official Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said the organisation was told there were no rats on board.
However, she did note that the cruise had visited a number of different islands, some of which have rodents.
“Our working hypothesis is that there's probably a couple of different types of transmission that might be happening,” she told BBC Breakfast today (5 May).
And while it’s rare, hantavirus infections can spread between people.
And physician Zaid Fadul said to NY Post that the strain, Andes virus, has been found to have had ‘human to human transmission’.
The ship set off from Argentina, where this strain of hantavirus has previously been found.
“And that’s where a lot of anxiety in this case is coming from,” Fadul claimed.
Van Kerkhove confirmed today: “We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that is happening among the really close contacts.”
Suspected outbreak on cruise ship
Van Kerkhove said that the WHO suspects the first person who fell ill could have contracted the virus before boarding the cruise ship.
According to the latest update, there are seven cases of hantavirus (two confirmed and five suspected) identified.
The two confirmed cases are a Dutch woman who died on 27 April and a 69-year-old UK national.
The woman’s husband also died on 11 April but he is not a confirmed case. It is understood the British passenger is ‘improving’.
Hantavirus can cause two severe illnesses; Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS_ and Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal syndrome (HFRS).
The UK government is putting ‘plans in place’ for the onward travel of Brits stuck aboard the cruise ship, according to Starmer.
What has the WHO said?
Van Kerkhove said: “As of today, seven individuals of the 147 passengers and crew have been reported ill, sadly, three have died.
“One patient is in intensive care in South Africa, although we understand that this patient is improving while two patients are still on board the ship and are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands for treatment.”
She added that the ‘highest priority’ is to medically evacuate the two patients still onboard to ‘make sure that they have the care’.
Van Kerhove said in another suspected case, the person was ‘currently doing well and is asymptomatic’.
“At this stage, there are no additional symptomatic people on board, that said, the situation is being closely monitored and, as a precaution, passengers have been asked to remain in their cabins while disinfection and other public health measures are carried out,” she added.
The WHO ‘assess the risk to the global population as low’.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel, Health, World News
Jess Battison