MV Hondius hantavirus timeline: How rare virus killed three on luxury Atlantic cruise

A rare hantavirus outbreak on board the Dutchflagged luxury expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has claimed three lives and left health authorities across multiple countries on high alert At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew on the vessel which is currently sailing towards Spainrsquos Canary IslandsThe ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions was carrying around 150 passengers and crew from nearly 28 nationalities when the outbreak unfolded While most passengers are tourists the presence of two Indian crew members has drawn attention in India as global contacttracing efforts continueHantavirus is primarily rodentborne but can in rare cases spread from person to person The strain involved is believed to be the Andes virus The World Health Organisation has described the risk to the general public as lowTimeline of the outbreakApril 1 The MV Hondius departs from Ushuaia in southern Argentina for a voyage that includes stops in Antarctica and remote South Atlantic islandsApril 6 A 70yearold Dutch man develops fever headache and mild diarrhoea He and his wife had toured parts of Argentina and Chile before boardingApril 11 The Dutch man dies on board from respiratory distress The exact cause remains unclear at the timeApril 15 The ship stops at Tristan da Cunha Six new passengers join while the deceased manrsquos body remains on boardApril 24 The body is offloaded at St Helena The Dutch manrsquos wife and over two dozen other passengers disembarkApril 2526 The Dutch woman showing symptoms flies from St Helena to South Africa She collapses at an airport on April 26 while trying to board another flight and later diesApril 27 A British man falls seriously ill on the ship and is evacuated to Ascension Island then to South Africa where he is admitted to intensive care with high fever breathing difficulties and pneumonialike symptomsApril 28 A German woman develops symptoms while the ship sails towards Cape VerdeMay 2 The German woman dies on board mdash the third fatality On the same day South African authorities confirm hantavirus in the British passengerMay 34 The World Health Organisation WHO acknowledges a suspected outbreak South Africa later confirms hantavirus in the Dutch woman posthumously The ship reaches Cape Verde watersMay 56 Cape Verde authorities restrict disembarkation Three seriously ill people including two crew members one being the shiprsquos doctor are evacuated to Europe after testing positive The ship is allowed to proceed to the Canary Islands Switzerland confirms another case from a passenger who disembarked earlier at St HelenaMay 7 Health authorities in several countries including Switzerland Britain Netherlands South Africa and others begin tracing and isolating former passengers and their contacts The ship with over 140 people still on board continues towards Tenerife No new symptomatic cases are reported on board as of the latest updatesIndian crew members on boardAccording to reports the two Indian crew members remain on the vessel along with other crew and passengers Their current health status has not been publicly disclosed The Indian government and diplomatic missions have been monitoring the situation closely though no specific advisory for Indian nationals has been issued so farThe luxury expedition cruise initially had people from countries including the Philippines UK US Netherlands Spain Germany and Canada among others Authorities continue contacttracing efforts across continents as the ship heads to its final destinationWith PTI and AP inputs