Twenty‑three passengers from the MV Hondius have been on land for more than two weeks. They disembarked on April 21 on the island of Saint Helena, 10 days after the first death on board, and began their journeys home. That is what a Spanish passenger still on the ship told EL PAÍS. “Twenty‑three people got off in Saint Helena. There are 23 people wandering around there, and until three days ago, no one had contacted them,” said the passenger, who asked to remain anonymous.
© Misper Apawu (AP)
The arrival in the Canary Islands in the coming days of the ship where a Hantavirus outbreak occurred has quickly sparked a political battle in Spain. The premier of Spain’s Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, from the Canary Coalition, sparked tension Wednesday morning during a series of interviews with various media outlets. He stated that his government has not received detailed information on how the operation will be carried out and speculated that it might be a highly contagious variant.
© Reuters TV (via REUTERS)
Scientific vessels, icebreakers, and cruise ships like the Grand Princess, one of the largest in the world, congregate in the port of Ushuaia. In this context, the MV Hondius wouldn’t stand out. It’s an ice-strengthened expedition ship, 107 meters long, with a capacity for about 170 people. On March 20, 149 people boarded: 88 passengers and 59 crew members. They represent 23 nationalities, and 14 are Spanish: five from Catalonia, three from Madrid, one from Galicia, and one from Valencia. The latter, oceanographer Aitana Forcén-Vázquez, is also part of the crew, acting as a guide for the tourists. There’s also an elderly Dutch couple who traveled to various locations in Chile and Argentina before arriving here, at the southernmost point of the continent. The MV Hondius advertises numerous amenities and a luxurious atmosphere on its website. Fares for this voyage range from $17,600 to $29,400. There are scheduled stops at some of the most remote islands on the planet, visiting diverse ecosystems and ending in Cape Verde, known as the “African Caribbean.” This is the logbook of their journey.
© ELTON MONTEIRO (EFE)
Ship’s doctor, a Briton, among those evacuated from MV Hondius, which is now heading for Canary Islands
Three people with suspected hantavirus, including a British doctor who is a crew member, have been medically evacuated from a cruise ship.
The 56-year-old Briton, along with a Dutch colleague aged 41 and a 65-year-old German, were taken from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius for onward travel to the Netherlands, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
JOHANNESBURG, May 6 — South Africa has identified the Andes strain of hantavirus, which spreads human-to-human, in two people who came off a cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the disease, the health minister’s presentation to parliament showed today.
The ship, the MV Hondius, was preparing to travel from Cape Verde towards Europe today after the Spanish government gave permission for it to dock in the Canary Islands.
The presentation seen by Reuters said tests done by South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealed that the Andes strain was the cause of infection in a Dutch woman who died in Johannesburg, and a British man who is still in hospital. Both had become ill on the ship.
“This is the only strain that is known to cause human to human transmission, but such transmission is very rare and as said earlier, only happens due to very close contact,” it said.
Other strains of hantavirus are more commonly transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings or saliva. — Reuters
GENEVA, May 6 — The World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday it was tracing people on a flight between the island of Saint Helena and Johannesburg, taken by a cruise ship passenger who died of hantavirus.
A total of 82 passengers and six crew were on board the April 25 flight from the British island in the Atlantic Ocean, South African-based carrier Airlink told AFP.
They included a Dutch woman whose husband died of the virus on the ship and whose condition “deteriorated during a flight to Johannesburg”, WHO said in a statement.
She had left the ship in Saint Helena with “gastrointestinal symptoms” on April 24, flew the next day and died upon arrival at the emergency department of a Johannesburg hospital on April 26, the WHO said.
On May 4, tests for hantavirus proved positive.
“Contact tracing for passengers on the flight has been initiated,” the WHO said.
Airlink operates one flight a week from the island, which takes around four hours and 45 minutes.
The South African authorities had asked the airline to notify the passengers that they must contact the health department, a representative, Karin Murray, told AFP.
WHO said it suspected that hantavirus may have spread between people on the cruise ship, which yesterday was anchored just off Cape Verde.
Besides the Dutch couple, a German passenger has also died. There are two confirmed and five suspected cases.
Saint Helena, home to around 4,400 close-knit people, said passengers from the MV Hondius had come ashore and some people on the remote South Atlantic island were being asked to isolate themselves.
“Two passengers with minor symptoms came ashore and may have had some contact with members of our local community,” the British overseas territory’s government said in a statement.
“While the virus can be serious, no cases of this illness have been identified in St Helena and there is no significant cause for concern on the island at this time.
“A small number of people who travelled to St Helena on the MV Hondius or had very close contact with those who were showing symptoms, are being advised by Public Health to undertake a period of self-isolation as a precaution.”
The government said a full risk-based contact tracing process was under way to identify and notify such persons. — AFP
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