South African authorities monitor cases as vessel remains off Cape Verde.
On Monday, South Africa’s Health Department confirmed that three out of six people possibly affected by a hantavirus outbreak have died. They were aboard a cruise ship that departed from Argentina and is currently off Cape Verde.
“While the ship was sailing off the South African coast, some passengers suffered severe health complications stemming from what were initially considered severe acute respiratory infections,” South African health authorities said.
The first patient was a 70-year-old passenger who suddenly fell ill aboard the ship during the voyage from Ushuaia (Argentina’s southernmost city) to the island of St. Helena (a British territory in the South Atlantic). He presented with fever, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The man ultimately died on the British island, where his remains are awaiting repatriation.
The second deceased was his 69-year-old wife, who fainted at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg while attempting to board a connecting flight to her home country, the Netherlands. She died after being transferred to a nearby medical center.
The third patient was a British national who became ill while the vessel was traveling from St. Helena to Ascension Island, another British territory. This case is the only one that has been laboratory-confirmed as a hantavirus infection.
“Despite the medical treatment he received on Ascension, his condition did not improve and it was necessary to evacuate him to a private health facility in Sandton (Johannesburg) for additional medical treatment,” authorities said, adding that he “remains in critical condition in isolation.”
The tourist vessel, named MV Hondius, departed Argentina on March 20 and was carrying about 150 tourists from various countries, traveling toward the Canary Islands in Spain. Along its route, the ship also passed mainland Antarctica, the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island and Tristan Island.
South Africa’s Health Department is working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and regional health authorities in Johannesburg to conduct contact tracing and halt the possible spread of the virus.
“In our view, there is no reason for public panic, as only two patients from the cruise have been within our borders. The World Health Organization is coordinating a joint response with all affected islands and countries to contain the spread of the disease,” South African authorities said.
The company operating the ship, the Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, reported that the other two ill individuals — beyond the British national — are crew members who “require urgent medical attention” and whom Cape Verdean authorities are not allowing to disembark.
Hantavirus is a disease typically transmitted through contact with urine or droppings from infected rodents, although in rare cases it can spread between people and lead to severe respiratory illness.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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