The MV Hondius, operated by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions, left Ushuaia, Argentina last month on a journey through remote parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, several passengers became sick with a rapidly progressing respiratory illness, the company said. CNN reported.
Seven cases of the rare rodent-borne hantavirus have been identified so far, including two confirmed cases and five suspected cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.
The vessel with 149 people on board is currently anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the west coast of Africa, after being refused entry to the port.
A 70-year-old Dutchman died last month aboard the ship and his body was disembarked at Saint Helena, a remote British territory in the South Atlantic, on April 24. The man’s wife then became unwell while traveling home to the Netherlands and died in hospital. A German national also died on Saturday aboard the ship, the expedition company said.
Another passenger, of British nationality, was evacuated to Johannesburg last week and is in critical condition in hospital.
Two crew members still on board the ship are symptomatic, one mild and one severe, and are set to be medically evacuated, Oceanwide Expeditions said
