PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — Two patients with confirmed hantavirus infection and one suspected case were evacuated from a cruise ship and flown to the Netherlands on Wednesday, according to the United Nations health agency. The vessel, which has been at the center of a deadly outbreak, departed Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board and is heading to Spain's Canary Islands.
Evacuation Details
Associated Press footage captured health workers in protective gear evacuating three passengers, including the ship's British doctor. Spain's health ministry reported that the doctor had been in serious condition but has since improved. An air ambulance later departed, and a medical evacuation flight arrived at Amsterdam's airport on Wednesday evening.
The World Health Organization confirmed that three people have died, with one body remaining on the ship. Out of eight recorded cases, five were laboratory-confirmed.
Transmission and Risk
Hantavirus typically spreads through inhalation of contaminated rodent droppings and can, though rarely, spread person-to-person. WHO's top epidemic expert, Maria Van Kerkhove, stated that the risk to the public is low. "This is not the next COVID, but it is a serious infectious disease," she said. "Most people will never be exposed to this."
Investigation into Origins
Health officials in Europe and Africa are tracing contacts of individuals who may have interacted with passengers who left the ship earlier. The vessel departed April 1 from South America, with stops in Antarctica and several remote Atlantic islands.
Two Argentine officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while bird-watching near Ushuaia before boarding. The couple reportedly visited a landfill during the tour, potentially exposing them to rodents. Authorities noted that Ushuaia and surrounding Tierra del Fuego province had never recorded a hantavirus case before.
Status of Evacuees and Remaining Passengers
The Dutch foreign ministry identified the three evacuated individuals as a 41-year-old Dutch national, a 56-year-old British national, and a 65-year-old German national, all to be transferred to specialized hospitals in Europe. WHO confirmed that testing in Senegal showed two of the evacuees were infected with hantavirus.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch ship operator, reported that two evacuees remain in serious condition, while the third had no symptoms but was closely associated with a German passenger who died on May 2. Health officials stated that passengers and crew still on board are asymptomatic and isolating in their cabins. Their journey to the Canary Islands is expected to take three to four days, with Spain's health ministry assuring that the arrival poses no public risk.
However, Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo expressed concern and demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Virus Characteristics and Response
Authorities confirmed that passengers tested positive for the Andes virus, a hantavirus species found in South America, primarily in Argentina and Chile. Person-to-person transmission is rare and occurs only through close contact. WHO has never documented a hantavirus outbreak on a ship before.
Two Dutch infectious disease experts are joining the ship. Van Kerkhove emphasized the importance of clinical care, as infected individuals can develop severe acute respiratory distress requiring oxygen or mechanical ventilation. The incubation period ranges from one to six weeks or more.
Itinerary and Contact Tracing
The ship's itinerary included stops across the South Atlantic, including mainland Antarctica, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena, and Ascension.
In Switzerland, a former passenger who tested positive is being treated at a Zurich hospital. South African authorities reported that two passengers transferred there tested positive: one British man in intensive care, and another who collapsed and died in South Africa.
Swiss health office spokesperson Simon Ming said the patient left the ship during its St. Helena stop. It is unclear when or how he traveled to Switzerland or how many countries he may have passed through. His wife is asymptomatic but self-isolating. "There is currently no risk to the Swiss public," the office stated.
At St. Helena, the body of a Dutch man, suspected to be the first hantavirus case on board, was removed. His wife flew to South Africa, collapsed at Johannesburg airport, and died. Later, a British man was evacuated at Ascension Island and taken to South Africa.
The ship's operator has not disclosed whether other passengers left at those or other locations.
South Africa's health ministry reported tracing 42 of 62 individuals believed to have had contact with the two infected passengers who traveled there. All 42 tested negative. However, 20 people remain untraced, including five who may have been on flights with the passengers and flight crew members. Some may have traveled overseas.
