Three passengers have died and at least three others are seriously ill aboard a Dutch cruise ship stranded off the coast of Cape Verde after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus, a rare rodent-borne disease, the World Health Organization and the ship's operator reported Monday.
The MV Hondius, operated by Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, was on a weeks-long polar cruise from Argentina to Antarctica and several isolated South Atlantic islands when it sought help from local health authorities near Cape Verde. Cape Verde's Health Ministry said it would not allow the ship to dock because of public health concerns, leaving it anchored in open water close to shore with 87 passengers and 61 crew still aboard.
The dead include a 70-year-old Dutch man who died on board April 11 and his 69-year-old wife, who died later in South Africa after being evacuated from the ship. Her blood tested positive for the virus, confirming two cases. A German passenger's body remains on the ship. A British man evacuated to South Africa on April 27 also tested positive and is in critical condition in an intensive care unit.
Two additional crew members, one British and one Dutch, have developed respiratory symptoms and need urgent medical care, Oceanwide said. Among the remaining passengers, 17 are American, 19 are British, and 13 are from Spain, according to the operator.
Hantavirus spreads through contact with infected rodents or their urine, saliva, or droppings. The WHO says person-to-person transmission is rare but possible. How an outbreak began aboard the vessel remains unclear, and WHO said it was investigating while coordinating evacuation plans for the sick crew members.
Cape Verde sent a medical team of two doctors, a nurse, and a laboratory specialist to the ship over three separate trips. Dr. Ann Lindstrand, a WHO official in Cape Verde, told the Associated Press that medical evacuations were being planned, with passengers to be transported by ambulance to an airport. "It's been very tricky for Cape Verdean authorities," she said. "What they have to deal with is a public health event. And of course, they have been thinking about the protection of the population here."
If evacuations cannot proceed in Cape Verde, Oceanwide said it would consider moving the ship to Tenerife or the port of Las Palmas in the Spanish island chain.
