Three dead in hantavirus outbreak on Atlantic cruise | Health Issues

Three of the six travelers who fell ill with the suspected rat-borne virus have died, and one is in intensive care, the WHO said.

Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, and one has been confirmed to have contracted hantavirus, a rare disease transmitted to humans from rats.

Health officials are now investigating the spread of the virus on the MV Hondius, which is sailing from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde.

In a statement on Sunday, the World Health Organization said one case had been confirmed and five other passengers were suspected of being infected.

“Of the six people affected, three have died, and one is seriously ill in South Africa,” WHO said in a statement.

“Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory tests and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and assistance are being provided to passengers and crew.

The WHO added that it is “supporting cooperation” between countries to evacuate two more people who are showing symptoms of the disease.

Hantavirus, a rare disease transmitted to humans through the droppings or urine of infected rodents, can be very fatal and cause hemorrhagic fever.

Infected families among the victims

South Africa’s Ministry of Health announced earlier on Sunday that there had been an outbreak of “severe respiratory illness”, which had killed at least two people, and that a third person was in intensive care in Johannesburg, according to AFP.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale, confirmed that a patient being treated in Johannesburg has tested positive for Hantavirus.

A 70-year-old man was the first to develop symptoms. He died on the ship, and his body is now being kept 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 at a Johannesburg hospital, he added.

Mohale told AFP that authorities have not confirmed the identity of the deceased. But the man in intensive care was identified by AFP as a 69-year-old Briton.