A British tourist is being treated in hospital in South Africa following a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sailing through the Atlantic Ocean, according to the country’s Department of Health.
Three people have died and at least three others are ill, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The UN’s agency also said an investigation has been launched and at least one case of hantavirus has been confirmed.
The outbreak was reported on the Dutch-flagged passenger cruise ship MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.
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It was docked near Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday night, according to ship tracking website MarineTraffic.
It has capacity for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, according to tour company Oceanwide Expeditions.
Hantavirus infections, which are usually spread by infected rodents’ urine or faeces, can lead to severe respiratory illness and can sometimes be fatal.
A spokesperson for the South African Department of Health said a man from the UK who became ill on the ship was taken to a private health facility in Sandton, Johannesburg.
“His laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus,” they said.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign Office said: “We are closely monitoring reports of a potential hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Hondius and stand ready to support British nationals if needed.
“We are in touch with the cruise company and local authorities.”
According to the South African health authority, a 70-year-old man and his 69-year-old wife, from the Netherlands, have died after falling ill.
The ministry said the man suffered fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, and died in St Helena while the woman was taken to hospital in the Kempton Park area of South Africa after collapsing at an airport.
The WHO said: “Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations.
“Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.”
The cruise’s operator Oceanwide Expeditions said on Sunday that authorities in Cape Verde had not given authorisation to disembark two crew members who it says “require urgent medical care”.
Local health authorities have visited the ship to assess their condition.
The company statement said ensuring the two crew members receive “adequate and expedited medical care” was its priority.
What is hantavirus?
While it is rare, hantavirus infections can spread between people, according to the WHO.
There is no specific treatment or cure but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive medical attention early.
Dr Yomani Sarathkumara, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland, said hantavirus infections were “really rare in humans”
The infection is believed to be often misdiagnosed in tropical countries as other infections, such as leptospirosis, which is also spread by animals.
What are the symptoms of hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are spread to humans via inhalation of or contact with infected rodent faeces, urine and saliva. More rarely, people can be infected through bites and scratches from contaminated animals.
“Agricultural communities across the world are at higher risk,” Sarathkumara said, with those exposed to animals and rodents more frequently.
Actor Gene Hackman’s wife died from hantavirus infection last year.
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Betsy Arakawa, 65, had fluid accumulation in her chest and mild hardening of the vessels that supplied blood to the heart and body, and her lungs were heavy and congested, according to a post-mortem examination report.
Hackman, 95, died about a week after his wife but examinations confirmed he tested negative for hantavirus and the main cause of his death was heart disease.