Mysterious Infection Aboard Atlantic Cruise Ship: Three Dead, Hantavirus Suspected
Agency. A mysterious infection aboard a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean has claimed three lives and left three others ill. The World Health Organisation confirmed on Sunday evening that at least one of the deceased has been laboratory-confirmed as a victim of hantavirus, with five additional suspected cases.
In a statement to Xinhua, the WHO said it is supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases. Three of the six affected individuals have died, and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.
The agency said detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing, it added.
Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure, specifically contact with infected rodents’ urine or faeces. While rare, the WHO noted that hantavirus may spread between people and can lead to severe respiratory illness, requiring careful patient monitoring, support, and response.
WHO is facilitating coordination between member states and the ship’s operators for the medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, as well as full public health risk assessment and support to the remaining passengers on board.
According to earlier reports, South Africa’s National Department of Health confirmed that two people had died from an acute respiratory infection on board a cruise ship known as MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was sailing from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde when it experienced a “severe acute respiratory illness.”
Reports also indicated that an elderly couple died, with the 70-year-old husband passing away on board the ship and his 69-year-old wife dying in a South African hospital, while another person is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit in Johannesburg.
