The deadly cruise ship rat virus has reached Europe, with a hantavirus patient who was a passenger on the MV Hondius being treated in a capital city.
The passenger is being treated in Zurich, Switzerland, and the Swiss Health ministry confirmed the case and said University Hospital Zurich was “prepared to deal with such cases, is able to care for the patient, and guarantee the safety of staff and all patients”.
Another person that was on the ship was evacuated to the Netherlands, as well as a British crew member.
The evacuation means the ship can now continue on its three-day journey to the Canary Islands after Spanish authorities gave permission for the boat to dock. It has been anchored off Cape Verde while arrangements were put in place to evacuate the crew members.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said “at this stage, the overall public health risk remains low”.
“Three suspected hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands in co-ordination with WHO, the ship’s operator and national authorities from Cabo Verde, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.
“WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed.
“Monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities. At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low.”
A Dutch passenger died on board the ship on April 11. On April 27, the wife of the passenger died, and authorities confirmed a variant of hantavirus. On May 2, a German passenger on board died, though the cause has not yet been confirmed.
Hantavirus infections, which are usually spread by infected rodents’ urine or faeces, can lead to severe respiratory illness and can sometimes be fatal. While it is rare, hantavirus infections can spread between people, according to the WHO.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, said that the virus is “rarely” spread between people.
The Andes virus, which has been identified as the variant behind the outbreak, is “known very rarely to spread between people with close contact”, Sir Andrew said.
The Foreign Office has confirmed that it has been directly in touch with all British passengers on board the ship, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.
