By Aldgra Fredly
Contributing Writer
South Africa’s health ministry has said that tests indicated the Andes strain, a rare form of hantavirus that can spread between humans, was found in two passengers aboard the MV Hondius.
Hantavirus is a viral disease most often transmitted through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents, and carries a mortality rate of 30 to 50%. The Andes strain can cause human-to-human transmission, though such spread is extremely rare and occurs only through “very close contact,” the ministry said on Tuesday.
The strain was detected in a British national, who was evacuated from the ship to Johannesburg on April 27 after falling ill. The patient is currently in critical condition.
It was also detected in a Dutch woman, who died on April 27 and was confirmed positive for hantavirus on Monday.
The ministry said it identified 62 contacts through contact tracing, including flight crew and health care workers, but no hantavirus cases have been detected among them so far.
According to the World Health Organization, the hantavirus had been confirmed in three of the eight cases, with the latest one involving a Swiss national who went to a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, for treatment after being informed by the ship’s operator via email about the health event on the ship.
“The type of virus in this outbreak has been confirmed as Andes hantavirus by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, South Africa and the Geneva University Hospital, Switzerland,” the WHO stated on X.
Three individuals have been evacuated from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius. Of those, two were crew members who developed severe symptoms and required urgent medical care, while the third was associated with a German national who died aboard the ship on Friday.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that the individuals had been evacuated from the ship and were “on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands.”
“WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed,” he wrote.
“Monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities.”
Ghebreyesus reiterated that the risk to public health “remains low” at this stage.
Tour operator Oceanwide Expedition said in its Tuesday update that the ship would sail to the Canary Islands once the three individuals were evacuated.
“Our plan is to proceed to the Canary Islands, either Gran Canaria or Tenerife, which will take three days of sailing. Discussions are ongoing with relevant authorities,” it stated.
The Spanish health ministry had said on Tuesday that it would receive the ship in the Canary Islands, the closest destination with the capacity to receive the ship, though the destination port had not yet been confirmed.
The ship is expected to arrive in the Canary Islands within three to four days.
“Once there, the crew and passengers will be properly examined, treated and transferred to their respective countries,” the ministry stated. “Both medical care and transfers will be carried out in special spaces and transports specifically set up for this situation, avoiding all contact with the local population and ensuring the safety of health care personnel at all times.”
As of Wednesday, three people have died in connection with the hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius.
Reuters contributed to this report.
