Three people have died and three others have fallen ill on a cruise ship in the Atlantic after suspected hantavirus infection, the World Health Organization announced on Sunday (WHO).
So far, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory-confirmed, and there are five more suspected infections.
Hantavirus infection is a rare disease associated with the feces or urine of infected rodents that can cause life-threatening respiratory problems.
The cruise ship MV Hondius, operated by a Dutch company, set sail from Argentina with about 150 passengers three weeks ago. It is currently located off the coast of Cape Verde in West Africa.
Two deaths occurred on board and one after disembarking. “In addition, one passenger is currently being treated in intensive care in Johannesburg and two people on board require urgent medical attention,” the ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said.
The company said the cause of the infections remains under investigation.
Epidemiologist Michael Baker for BBC stated that passengers suspected of hantavirus could have been infected before boarding the cruise ship due to the long incubation period of the virus.
In the article you will read:
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what do we know about the infected on the cruise ship,
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what is hantavirus and what does it cause
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what experts say about him appearing on a cruise ship.
What we know about the events on the cruise ship
The cruise ship made stops in mainland Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Nightingale, Tristan, St. Helena, Ascension and Cape Verde.
Diary The New York Times with reference to the spokesperson of the National Ministry of Health v Republic of South Africa writes that as the first, the symptoms of the infection were manifested in a 70-year-old Dutch passenger. He was suffering from a fever, headachesstomach and diarrhea and died after arriving on the island of St. Helena.
