Three dead as rare hantavirus outbreak hits Antarctic cruise ship heading to Canary Islands

Two patients with hantavirus and one suspected of infection were evacuated from a cruise ship at the centre of a deadly outbreak the UN health agency said The ship then departed Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board isolated in their cabins and headed to Spains Canary IslandsAssociated Press footage showed health workers in protective gear evacuating three patients including the ships British doctor Two of the patients arrived at Amsterdams airport Wednesday evening and were taken to separate hospitals Three people have died and one body remained on the ship the World Health Organisation said Of eight recorded cases five were confirmed by laboratory testingHantavirus usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and can spread persontoperson though that is rare according to the WHO whose top epidemic expert said the risk to the public is low Health officials in Europe and Africa are trying to identify people who may have had contact with people who earlier left the ship which departed April 1 from South America for stops in Antarctica and several remote Atlantic islandsTwo Argentine officials investigating the origins of the outbreak said the governments leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while birdwatching in the city of Ushuaia before boarding They said the couple visited a landfill during the tour and may have been exposed to rodents The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media with the investigation ongoingThe Dutch foreign ministry said the three people evacuated Wednesday were a 41yearold Dutch national a 56yearold British national and a 65yearold German national WHO said testing in Senegal confirmed that two of the evacuees were infected with hantavirusTwo of the evacuees were in serious condition Dutch ship operator Oceanwide Expeditions said and the third had no symptoms but was closely associated with a German passenger who died on the MV Hondius ship on May 2 Upon arriving in the Amsterdam one of the evacuated patients was taken to a specialised hospital in Dusseldorf Germany the other was taken to a hospital in Leiden the NetherlandsHealth officials said passengers and crew members still on the ship were without symptoms Their journey to the Canary Islands will take three or four days Spains health ministry said Their arrival wont represent any risk for the public the ministry said Still the Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo said he worried about the risk to the public and demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro SanchezAuthorities said passengers tested positive for the Andes virus a species of hantavirus found in South America primarily in Argentina and Chile The virus can spread between people though thats rare and only through close contact according to the WHO The health agency has never seen a hantavirus outbreak on a ship This is not the next COVID but it is a serious infectious disease the WHOs top epidemic expert Maria Van Kerkhove said Most people will never be exposed to thisTwo Dutch infectious diseases experts were joining the ship Van Kerkhove said Access to clinical care is important she said because infected people can develop severe acute respiratory distress and need oxygen or mechanical ventilation There is no specific treatment or cure but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival The hantavirus incubation period can be one to six weeks or more she saidThe ships itinerary included stops across the South Atlantic including mainland Antarctica and the remote islands of South Georgia Nightingale Island Tristan da Cunha St Helena and AscensionAuthorities in Switzerland said a former passenger who tested positive was being treated at a Zurich hospital South African authorities earlier said two passengers who were transferred there tested positive One a British man was in intensive care the other collapsed and died in South AfricaSwiss health office spokesperson Simon Ming said the patient there had left the ship during its St Helena stop It was not clear when or how he travelled to Switzerland and how many other countries he might have passed through The patients wife hasnt shown symptoms but is selfisolating as a precaution a statement by the office saidAt St Helena the body of the Dutch man suspected to be the first hantavirus case on board was taken off the ship His wife flew to South Africa where she collapsed at the Johannesburg airport and died Later a British man was evacuated at Ascension Island and taken to South Africa The ships operator has not said if other people left at those or other locationsThe South African health ministry says officials have traced 42 out of 62 people including health workers they believe had contact with the two infected passengers who traveled there The 42 tested negative for hantavirusBritish health officials said two of the ships passengers who flew home earlier in its journey are selfisolating but do not have symptoms of illness The UK Health Security Agency said a small number of contacts of the two are also selfisolating but are not showing any symptomsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever