\n<\/p>\n
By Charlotte Van Campenhout<\/p>\n
AMSTERDAM, May 5 (Reuters) – Two cases of the deadly hantavirus have been confirmed, and five more are suspected, among people who fell ill on a cruise ship now marooned off the Cape Verde islands and unable to put passengers ashore, the World Health Organization \u200csaid.<\/p>\n
In its most detailed update on the outbreak, published late on Monday, the U.N. health body said the risk to the wider public was low \u200cfrom a disease typically spread from infected rodents that only rarely passes between humans.<\/p>\n
But it added that limited human-to-human transmission had been reported in some strains of the virus.<\/p>\n
The authorities in Cape Verde – an island \u200bnation in the Atlantic off West Africa – said they had not allowed the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius to dock as a precaution.<\/p>\n
THREE PEOPLE HAVE DIED, AROUND 150 STUCK ON BOARD<\/p>\n
Around 150 people are stuck on the Hondius, which was carrying mostly British, American and Spanish passengers on a luxury cruise that set off from the southern tip of Argentina in late March. The cruise visited the Antarctic peninsula and South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha – some of the remotest islands on the planet.<\/p>\n
The seven confirmed or suspected cases comprise three people who have \u200cdied, one who is critically ill and three with \u2060mild symptoms, the WHO said.<\/p>\n
The three fatalities were a Dutch couple and a German national, while a British national was evacuated from the ship and is in intensive care in South Africa, officials said.<\/p>\n
RISK TO WIDER PUBLIC LOW, WHO SAYS<\/p>\n
As a precaution, passengers aboard the \u2060Hondius have been instructed to remain inside their cabins whenever possible, the WHO said, adding that the incubation period can last several weeks, meaning some people may not yet be showing symptoms.<\/p>\n
Epidemiological investigations were under way to determine the source of the outbreak, the WHO said. Medical teams in Cape Verde are evaluating the patients and collecting additional specimens for testing.<\/p>\n
The WHO added \u200bthat \u200balthough uncommon, limited human\u2011to\u2011human transmission of the Andes virus, a species of hantavirus found in Argentina \u200band Chile, “has been reported in community settings involving close and prolonged \u200ccontact”.<\/p>\n
The Dutch couple who were the first to die had travelled in South America, including Argentina, before they boarded the cruise ship.<\/p>\n
LOOKING FOR A SAFE PORT<\/p>\n
The ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said authorities were working on a plan for a medical evacuation of two people on board who are ill, as well as person who travelled with one of the passengers who has died.<\/p>\n
There is no definitive plan yet for the disembarkation of the remaining guests on board, the company said. It only confirmed that this would not be done in Cape Verde.<\/p>\n
“Sailing on to Las Palmas or Tenerife is being considered, where further medical screening and handling could take place, organised and supervised by the \u200cWHO and Dutch health services. This is yet to be confirmed,” it said.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Spain’s \u200bHealth Ministry told Reuters they had not yet received a request to dock at the Canary \u200bIslands.<\/p>\n
VOYAGE STARTED IN SOUTHERN ARGENTINA<\/p>\n
The Hondius left Ushuaia in southern Argentina in March, \u200baccording to company documentation, on a voyage marketed as an Antarctic nature expedition, with berth prices ranging from 14,000 to 22,000 euros ($16,000 \u200cto $25,000).<\/p>\n
The first stricken passenger, the Dutch man, died on April 11. His \u200bbody remained on board until April 24, \u200bwhen it “was disembarked on St Helena, with his wife accompanying the repatriation”, Oceanwide Expeditions said.<\/p>\n
His wife, who had gastrointestinal symptoms when she was disembarked, later deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg. She died upon arrival at the emergency department on April 26, the WHO said, adding that contact tracing was under way \u200bfor passengers on that flight.<\/p>\n
South African authorities have confirmed that \u200cthe British patient, who is being treated in a Johannesburg hospital, tested positive for the hantavirus. The Netherlands has confirmed the virus in the \u200bDutch woman who died.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru and Charlotte Van Campenhout in Amsterdam; Additional reporting by David Latona and Monica Naime; Writing \u200bby Ingrid Melander and Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Nia Williams and Andrew Heavens)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n