By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, May 4 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Monday there was no need for panic and the risk to the public was low after three people died and three fell ill following a suspected outbreak of the rodent-borne hantavirus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic.
Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions said it was “managing a serious medical situation” on a polar expedition ship, the MV Hondius, which was off Cape Verde, an island nation off Africa’s western coast.
The cruise left Argentina about three weeks ago with around 150 passengers and stopped in the Antarctic and other locations on its way to Cape Verde, according to media reports.
“The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions,” WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said in a statement.
Kluge said the WHO was acting with urgency to support the response to the outbreak and working with the countries involved to support medical care, evacuation, investigations and a public health risk assessment.
“Hantavirus infections are uncommon and usually linked to exposure to infected rodents. While severe in some cases, it is not easily transmitted between people,” Kluge said.
A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that two Dutch passengers had died but gave no further details.
The WHO said in an X post that one of the sick passengers was in intensive care in South Africa. Sky News reported the passenger is British, citing South Africa’s Department of Health.
Lab tests have confirmed hantavirus in one of the six people, the organisation said.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Miranda Murray and Andrew Heavens)
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