MADRID — Health officials from multiple continents are on the lookout, tracking passengers who left a cruise ship before an outbreak of hantavirus was identified. They are trying to reach anyone who may have had contact with these travelers.
In Argentina, the Health Ministry has revealed that a team of investigators is poised to depart for the town believed to be the outbreak’s origin. They suspect a Dutch couple might have contracted the virus while bird-watching prior to boarding the cruise ship.
More than a dozen individuals from at least 12 countries disembarked on April 24, just weeks after the first passenger succumbed to the illness, according to the ship’s operator and Dutch authorities.
So far, three people have died due to the outbreak — a Dutch couple and a German national — and several more are ill. It’s worth mentioning that symptoms can take between one and eight weeks to manifest after exposure.
However, the cruise line, Oceanwide Expeditions, based in the Netherlands, stated that none of the current passengers or crew members are displaying symptoms at this point.
The World Health Organization reassures that the risk to the broader public remains low. Hantavirus generally spreads through inhaling contaminated rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted from person to person.
According to Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, the WHO’s director for alert and response, there’s a belief that this will be a contained outbreak, provided that effective public health measures are adopted and cooperation is established among countries.
First hantavirus case confirmed on May 2
Three people, including the ship’s doctor, were evacuated on Wednesday near Cape Verde and transferred to specialized hospitals in Europe for medical care.
The first fatality on board, a Dutch man who died on April 11, had his body removed from the ship on April 24, on the remote island of St. Helena. His wife also disembarked and traveled to South Africa, where she later passed away.
The ship’s operator reported that 30 passengers, including both deceased individuals, disembarked in St. Helena, while the Dutch Foreign Ministry mentioned the number might be closer to 40. Earlier, they hadn’t publicly clarified that many left the ship on April 24.
Health authorities confirmed the first hantavirus case on May 2, involving a British man who was evacuated from the ship to South Africa days after stopping at St. Helena. He is currently in intensive care.
Monitoring of those who disembarked on April 24
It was recently disclosed that a man tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland after disembarking at St. Helena, although details of his travels remain unclear.
On Thursday, Singaporean health officials stated they are monitoring two men who flew from St. Helena to South Africa and then returned home. They had arrived in Singapore at different times and were being isolated and evaluated.
The authorities in St. Helena are keeping tabs on a few individuals classified as “higher risk contacts,” advising them to isolate for 45 days.
Tracing contacts in South Africa related to an April 25 flight
On Thursday, the Dutch health ministry reported that a flight attendant showed symptoms of hantavirus after briefly coming into contact with a cruise passenger in South Africa. This passenger, whose husband had died on the ship, was too ill to continue her flight and was removed in Johannesburg, where she died.
The cruise ship is now heading to Spain’s Canary Islands, with over 140 passengers and crew still aboard. Expected arrival is Saturday or Sunday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that he has maintained regular communication with the ship’s captain, noting improved morale as the vessel continues its journey.
South African authorities are tracing contacts from a flight taken on April 25 from St. Helena to Johannesburg, the day after passengers disembarked. A French citizen exhibiting mild symptoms is in isolation, linked to the confirmed hantavirus case stemming from the flight.
Among the passengers on this flight was the Dutch woman from the cruise who later passed away in South Africa. The number of other cruise passengers on the flight remains unknown, but flights from St. Helena are infrequent, typically happening once a week.
The body of the third fatality, a German woman, is still on the vessel after passing away on May 2.
Andes virus: a hantavirus that may spread between humans
At least five passengers from the ship have tested positive for a hantavirus found in South America, known as the Andes virus. It’s noteworthy because it’s the only hantavirus believed to transmit between humans, potentially leading to a serious condition called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
The ship began its journey in Argentina, where investigations are currently focused to pinpoint the source of the outbreak.
The Dutch couple at the center of the initial cases traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding the ship, visiting areas where rodents known to carry the Andes virus were present.
Argentina’s Health Ministry is concentrating efforts in the town of Ushuaia for this investigation, but a team has not yet been sent out. The Malbrán Institute aims to send experts to Ushuaia soon for further examination of potential rodent carriers.
In addition, the WHO is collaborating with Argentine health authorities to trace the couple’s movements and has arranged to send 2,500 diagnostic kits to labs in five different nations.
According to Argentina’s health ministry, there were 28 recorded deaths due to hantavirus last year, well above the annual average of 15 over the previous five years. Roughly a third of last year’s cases proved fatal.
