The CDC says it is monitoring American travelers linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship that is now heading toward the Canary Islands.
The MV Hondius has been linked to at least three deaths, while health officials across multiple countries scramble to track passengers who have already left the vessel.
The cases
As of Thursday morning, three people — a Dutch couple and a German passenger — have died.
There are now eight suspected cases linked to the ship, with the World Health Organization confirming three through laboratory testing.
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On Wednesday, three sick passengers were evacuated from the vessel to Cape Verde, where they were then flown to Amsterdam for treatment.
In addition, Oceanwide Expeditions, which operates the cruise ship, also clarified on Thursday that 29 passengers — including six Americans — left the vessel during a stop in St. Helena on April 24 after the first onboard death.
CNN reports one passenger from Arizona and two from Georgia are now being monitored.
CDC now monitoring
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is actively monitoring the situation involving American travelers connected to the ship.
In a statement, the CDC said, “The administration is closely monitoring the situation with U.S. travelers onboard the M/V Hondius cruise ship with confirmed hantavirus. Our top priority remains the health and safety of all U.S. passengers.”
Health officials are now trying to track down passengers from at least a dozen countries who left the ship in recent weeks in order to conduct contact tracing.
Hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents, including exposure to droppings or urine. In severe cases, it can trigger life-threatening respiratory problems.
According to The Washington Post, Dutch health officials are also investigating a possible airline exposure. A flight attendant has reportedly been hospitalized after coming into contact with a cruise passenger on an April 24 Airlink flight from St. Helena to Johannesburg. That passenger died from hantavirus the following day.
Passenger describes fear aboard
A Turkish traveler, Ruhi Cenet, who boarded the MV Hondius in Argentina on April 1, told NBC News he first became concerned on April 12 when the ship’s captain announced a passenger had died of what was described at the time as natural causes.
Cenet said passengers were told there was no infection risk and life on board largely continued as normal. He later began isolating himself and eating meals alone as more people became sick.
“It’s very scary because it was nothing that we were ready for,” he said.
Cenet left the ship in St. Helena on April 24. He says he later tested negative and has not developed symptoms.
“Knowing that we didn’t get isolated and we didn’t take any caution for a solid 12 days, for my part, is a very sad situation,” he added.
WHO official warns care is critical
In an interview with Straight Arrow earlier this week, Professor Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, said that getting passengers off the ship and into medical care was critical because there are no antiviral treatments for hantavirus.
Gostin said severe cases often require intensive supportive care, including oxygen and kidney support for patients suffering respiratory or renal failure.
