Three people are dead and three others have fallen ill in what officials believe is an outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship.
The MV Hondius is now anchored off the coast of Cape Verde, an island off the west coast of Africa, according to CNN, citing a statement by Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that operates the cruise ship.
The ship still has 149 people aboard, including 17 Americans, the outlet reported.
For now, passengers cannot disembark. Local health authorities boarded the ship to treat two crew members “requiring urgent medical care,” Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Hantavirus can cause a severe and often deadly respiratory illness. Contact with the saliva, urine, or droppings of rats and mice is the most common means of transmission.
The first victim was a 70-year-old man from the Netherlands who suffered a fever, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea before dying on April 11.
His 69-year-old wife died days later.
A German citizen died on Saturday.
Travel vlogger Jake Rosmarin said fear has spread through the ship.
“What’s happening right now is very real for all of us here. We’re not just a story. We’re not just headlines,” he said.
“We’re people, people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home. There’s a lot of uncertainty, and that’s the hardest part.”
Cape Verde’s health authorities are “monitoring this situation very closely … and will provide an update as soon as possible,” the country’s health director, Angela Gomes, said.
The World Health Organization said five hantavirus cases are suspected, and one has been confirmed.
“Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations,” the WHO said.
Scott Miscovich, CEO of Premier Medical Group, said it is unusual to have the virus present on a ship that hasn’t docked where the virus is found.
“When I first read this, I thought that they were making a misprint,” he told CNN following the news of the suspected outbreak.
He said it is possible either the ship was contaminated, or a passenger picked up a rare Andes variant that is transmissible between humans.
Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s minister of health, said a British patient taken ashore was critical and had been admitted to a private facility, according to the BBC.
“He’s being taken care of. As you know, hantavirus, like all viruses, don’t have any specific treatment, so they are giving symptomatic treatment and support as much as they could,” he said.
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