An American travel influencer has broken down in tears on camera after being trapped aboard a cruise ship near West Africa where three passengers have died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. Jake Rosmarin, a Boston-based travel influencer who has more than 44,000 Instagram followers, shared a sobbing video on Monday describing the fear and uncertainty gripping those still on board the MV Hondius.
“I am currently on board the MV Hondius. What’s happening right now is very real for all of us here,” he said through tears. “We’re not just a story, we’re not just headlines. We’re people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.”
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and that’s the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home,” he added.
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What has happened on the ship?
Around 150 people remain stuck on the vessel, including 17 Americans, after three passengers, a Dutch couple and a German national died following the suspected outbreak. The ship was on a weeks-long polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica when the trouble began in early April, according to the New York Post.
The first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch man died on April 11 after developing a fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. His body was taken off the ship two weeks later at the British territory of Saint Helena, roughly 1,200 miles off the African coast. His 69-year-old wife was transferred to South Africa at the same time but collapsed at a Johannesburg airport and later died at a nearby hospital. A third passenger who is a German national also died on the ship on Saturday.
A sick British man was evacuated to South Africa on April 27 and later tested positive for hantavirus, authorities confirmed.
Also Read: Explained: What is Hantavirus? Illness suspected in deadly cruise ship outbreak
What is hantavirus and what should you do to stay safe?
Hantavirus is a rare infection that humans usually pick up from rodents. The most common way to get infected is by breathing in tiny particles from an infected rodent’s droppings, urine or nesting material. It can also spread through food contaminated by mice or in very rare cases, through a bite or scratch from an infected rodent. The virus does not usually spread from one person to another, according to the New York Post.
The best way to reduce the risk of hantavirus is to avoid contact with rodents. This includes trapping mice, cleaning rodent droppings carefully with disinfectant without sweeping them into the air, keeping woodpiles and compost away from the home, clearing out trash that could attract rodents and not leaving pet food where mice can reach it.
