Authorities in several countries have reported tracing passengers who had been on the illness-stricken cruise while one person tested positive for the virus in Switzerland – here is a map and list of places impacted
The deadly rat virus outbreak that has left around 150 passengers on a luxury cruise liner stuck at sea has also been confirmed in people outside the vessel.
Three people on the MV Hondius liner, an elderly Dutch couple and German woman, have died while a British passenger was evacuated to South Africa where he remains in a critical condition. Authorities have confirmed the virus was the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is known to spread between close contacts.
While the cruise ship set off from Argentina and is currently waiting to dock passengers and crew on land, authorities in other countries have reported monitoring people who were on the rat disease cruise but disembarked before the deaths.
READ MORE: Moment MV Hondius captain wrongly tells passengers cruise ship ‘not infectious’ after first hantavirus deathREAD MORE: Eerie images from inside MV Hondius cruise ship as passengers die from Hantavirus outbreak
Hantavirus can spread from animals to humans when people come into contact with infected rodents and their droppings, saliva or urine. This can include breathing in particles from infected droppings and touching infected parts with hands. It can also be contracted through rodent bites but this is very unlikely.
Around 150 passengers were on the liner and they were from 23 countries, including the UK. Officials are racing to track down people through contact tracing to find potential cases. The WHO said: “In line with the International Health Regulations (IHR), WHO is working with relevant countries to support international contact tracing, to ensure that those potentially exposed are monitored and that any further disease spread is limited.”
What countries are linked with hantavirus?
- South Africa: A British man from the cruise, who tested positive for the virus, is in a critical condition in hospital. The 69-year-old Dutch victim deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg and died on April 26 upon arrival at an emergency department.
- Netherlands: British man Martin Anstee, 56, was evacuated from the cruise on May 6 and sent to the Netherlands for treatment. A a 41-year-old Dutch crew member and a 65-year-old German were also evacuated from the vessel and taken to the Netherlands.
- United Kingdom: Two Brits, who left the MV Hondius in late April, are self-isolating at home in the UK amid the outbreak but neither had symptoms of the disease.
- Switzerland: Swiss authorities confirmed a man who had been on the cruise, but disembarked before the deaths, visited a hospital in Zurich when the operator emailed about the health crisis. He tested positive for hantavirus.
- United States: Officials in three US states said they are monitoring potential hantavirus infections from people who were passengers on the trip and returned home. These states include California, Georgia and Arizona.
- Argentina: The MV Hondius set sail from Argentina a month ago and the WHO revealed the Dutch couple who died had travelled through South America, including Argentina, before boarding the ship.
- Singapore: Two residents in Singapore, two men aged 67 and 65, are self-isolating and being tested for hantavirus after returning home from the cruise. They were both on a flight from St Helena to Johannesburg with a confirmed hantavirus case.
Where has the rat virus cruise been?
The luxury cruise ship was stuck off the coast of Cape Verde, west Africa, for three days after it was no allowed to dock on the island nation. Spain later said the liner could dock on the Canary Islands as it was the “closest location with the necessary capabilities”. It is expected to arrive this weekend but evacuation should start on Monday, according to the Spanish interior ministry.
Despite this, the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, protested this move and said: “I cannot allow [the boat] to enter the Canaries.”
Where were the passengers and crew on the cruise from?
Passengers
- United Kingdom
- USA
- Spain
- France
- Germany
- The Netherlands
- Canada
- Australia
- Turkey
- Japan
- Greece
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Argentina
- New Zealand
Crew
- United Kingdom
- The Netherlands
- Philippines
- Spain
- Germany
- Poland
- Ukraine
- Portugal
- Russia
- India
- Montenegro
- Guatemala
