Investigators believe the deadly hantavirus that killed three people on a cruise ship may have been infected by a couple on a bird watching trip.
Two Argentine officials investigating the outbreak on the MV Hondius traced the virus to a landfill site that a cruise ship couple had visited during a strange excursion.
Investigators’ leading theory is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching trip on a cruise ship. argentina.
They may have come into contact with rodents carrying the virus at a garbage dump they visited during the trip.
Two officials spoke to the AP about the theory on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak while the investigation is ongoing.
Two of the three people who died were Dutch couples, although it has not been confirmed whether they were the same couple who had gone on a bird-watching trip.
britain’s bug hell
Two Britons self-isolating and former policeman evacuated from ship affected by ‘rat virus’
bug spreads
Rat virus hits 2 cases in Europe, including French patient who was not on ship
It comes like this…
It came as Spain announced that more than 20 Britons will be flown home as soon as possible after their ship docked in Tenerife – but they will face up to eight weeks of quarantine.
rat virus cruise ship A seriously ill British doctor is set to dock in the Canary Islands after being evacuated and is now in a “stable condition”.
Spain’s Health Minister Monica Garcia said the British doctor was originally scheduled to be flown to Tenerife for treatment, but the decision was taken to take him to the Netherlands instead.
The 56-year-old crew member was today evacuated from the MV Hondius along with a Dutch colleague and a German passenger as the ship set sail for the Canary Islands.
Garcia confirmed that the doctor’s condition had improved.
He is currently in stable condition and fighting for his life after being evacuated in a critical condition.
What is Hantavirus? Bug with 40% mortality rate reaches Europe
By Bethan Moss and Eliza Loukou
The deadly virus that spread aboard the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius and killed three people is usually spread through contact with rodent feces.
But this particular strain, known as “Andes virus,” is a worrying exception.
Found only in the mountains of Argentina and Chile, this strain is the only hantavirus that has demonstrated the ability to spread between humans.
And WHO believes this strain could have a horrific mortality rate of up to 40 percent.
Passengers aboard the MV Hondius stranded in the Atlantic Ocean could face up to a week in isolation as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus.
So far, three passengers have died, while others believed to be infected with the virus have been evacuated from the ship.
Meanwhile, a French national who was not on the cruise liner has reportedly been infected with hantavirus after flying with an infected passenger.
This is the first case of fatal disease in a patient who was not on the MV Hondius.
But it is not the first case in Europe since the pandemic was declared over the weekend.
A passenger aboard the MV Hondius is being treated in Zurich, according to the Swiss Health Ministry – while stressing that “there is currently no risk to the Swiss public”.
As for passengers still on board the luxury ship, they could face up to two months of quarantine, experts have warned – as the virus has an incubation period of eight weeks.
This means that people exposed to the virus may not develop symptoms until eight weeks later.
Hantavirus is spread by rats through contact with their urine, feces and saliva.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10,000 to 100,000 cases occur in humans each year worldwide.
Symptoms range from mild flu-like illness to major respiratory problems or internal bleeding.
Although uncommon, limited human-to-human transmission has been reported in previous outbreaks of Andes virus – a distinct species of hantavirus.
The strain found largely in Chile and Argentina — where the cruise ship decamped began in March — is the only known variant that can spread through close, prolonged human-to-human contact.
The WHO confirmed on Wednesday that the outbreak on the cruise ship is Andes hantavirus.
South African officials also confirmed that the Andes strain has caused infection in two cruise passengers.
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The Briton will be flown to Amsterdam along with a 41-year-old Dutchman and a 65-year-old German woman.
All three are ready to undergo treatment in the Netherlands.
The German passenger will then be transferred to Dusseldorf for check-in.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the hantavirus outbreak “very serious and deeply stressful for those affected and their families.”
He said: “The Foreign Office is working urgently to support UKHSA’s work overseas and to ensure that all British nationals on the MV Hondius can get home safely with appropriate protections in place for public health.”
A French patient who didn’t have rat virus on cruise liner He has reportedly been infected with Hantavirus after flying with an infected passenger.
The French case is the first case of fatal disease in a patient who was not on the MV Hondius since hantavirus reached Europe.
Dutch airline KLM said on Wednesday that a passenger had died of hantavirus on one of its flights from Johannesburg to the Netherlands on April 25, but that it had been cleared by staff before takeoff.
KLM said: “Due to the passenger’s medical condition at the time, the crew decided not to allow the passenger to travel on the flight.”
The flight took off from Johannesburg on the same day as a Dutch passenger flying from St. Helena to the South African city.
She later died of the virus in hospital, but it has not been confirmed whether she was the same passenger who attempted to fly to Amsterdam.
Dutch health authorities are contacting people who were on board the plane as a precaution, KLM said.
