One of the central topics in the international press was the hantavirus outbreak on board the cruise ship MV Hondius. The ship is docked off the coast of Cape Verde, passengers and crew are not allowed ashore. Sick passengers are evacuated from the ship for treatment. The rest are still waiting to see what decision the authorities and doctors will make as they try to understand the situation.
Noovo Info (Trois-Rivieres, Canada)
Hantavirus: a serious but rare disease
Hantavirus is not something new; it has been known for a long time. Fortunately, hantavirus is not as contagious as COVID-19, the flu, or measles. The vast majority of cases of infection occur through direct contact with an environment contaminated by rodents. On a ship (in a confined space.— “Kommersant”) the risk increases primarily due to the presence of a common source of contamination, such as a contaminated area, food supplies or areas where rodents were present. Therefore, isolating passengers does not mean that the virus cannot be transmitted from person to person.
But there is one exception: the Andean hantavirus, found mainly in South America and associated with some cases of person-to-person transmission, especially through close contact. Without downplaying the seriousness of the situation, the infection can be severe, the virus is not new, cases remain rare, and it is not very contagious to humans. The risk to the general population is minimal.
CNN (Atlanta, USA)
Masks, movies and walks alone on deck: life on board a cruise ship affected by hantavirus
Just a month ago they were on an exciting journey to the most remote islands in the world. Now they are isolated in their cabins, locked on board the ship, taking all possible measures to protect themselves from the outbreak of the deadly virus. Video blogger Kasem Hato published a video from the ship. “What you see before us is Cape Verde, but we are not allowed to go ashore there.” Passengers are ordered to self-isolate and strict sanitary measures have been taken. The crew spends a lot of time caring for passengers and disinfecting the ship. Hato told CNN that the ship’s captain and management are constantly updating passengers with new information.
Tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions says passengers are remaining calm. “Our days go on almost as usual,” says Kasem Hato, noting that morale on the ship remains high. “We try to keep ourselves busy with reading, watching movies, hot drinks and so on.”
El Mundo (Madrid, Spain)
President Clavijo denies a cruise ship with hantavirus entry to the Canary Islands due to a lack of “security” and asks the government not to “cause panic”
Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo has rejected a proposal to allow a cruise ship carrying passengers infected with hantavirus to enter the islands. “This decision is not based on any technical criteria and there is not enough information to preserve the peace of the population or guarantee security,” he warned.
“We don’t understand the logic of the decision to send this ship on a three-day voyage to the Canary Islands to do the same thing that can be done right now in Cape Verde,” Clavijo stressed. “We were only told that a request for help had been received and the government had decided to respond to it,” he added.
The Guardian (London, UK)
A sick British crew member is urgently evacuated from a cruise ship.
A British crew member who fell ill following a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean will be evacuated. The World Health Organization said a rare case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly virus may have occurred on the ship. The crew member is being prepared for medical evacuation from the MV Hondius along with his Dutch colleague, with Dutch authorities overseeing the operation. A British passenger with hantavirus symptoms is said to be improving. The passenger was evacuated to Johannesburg on April 27 and remains in intensive care.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government was drawing up “plans” for the onward journey of the remaining Britons stranded on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship: “My thoughts are with those affected by the hantavirus outbreak on board the MV Hondius. We are working closely with international partners to support British citizens on board and are developing plans for their safe onward journey.”
