AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Countries around the world on Thursday, May 7, struggled to prevent the further spread of hantavirusafter the outbreak of a cruise shipby tracking those who had already come down before the virus was detected by anyone close to them since then.
Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – died in the explosion of the MV Hondius. Eight people, including a Swiss citizen, are suspected of contracting the virus, which is usually spread by rodents but can, in rare cases, be transmitted among people, the World Health Organization said.
All passengers who came down in St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship stopped on April 24, have been contacted, the ship operator said, adding that this includes people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the United States. The first confirmed case of hantavirus came in early May.
Close monitoring
Experts have emphasized that the infection is very rare, but the outbreak has put health authorities on high alert.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was closely monitoring the situation, adding that the risk to the US public was very low at the time.
The Georgia Department of Public Health said it was tracking two asymptomatic residents who had returned home after disembarking from a cruise ship.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said in a separate emailed statement it was monitoring one resident, who was a passenger on the cruise, and was not symptomatic. According to New York TimesCalifornia is tracking an unknown number of residents who were also on the ship.
A French citizen has been in contact with someone who was sick but had no symptoms, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
Address tracking
Oceanwide Cruises said it is now working to get the details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked at various terminals since March 20. The Dutch couple who have died, and who are believed to be the first hantavirus cases of this outbreak, only boarded on April 1.
Dutch airline KLM on Wednesday, May 6, said it removed the Dutch woman from a flight in Johannesburg on April 25 due to her deteriorating health. He died before reaching Holland.
According to broadcaster RTL, the KLM manager who had been contacted is now hospitalized in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms of hantavirus. The Dutch health ministry did not confirm that the woman being tested was a KLM manager, and neither did the airline.
But the crew and passengers who helped the Dutch woman who died are being called in every day for health checks, Dutch authorities told broadcaster NOS.
Rescue, tests
The virus found in the victims has been confirmed as the Andean strain, which can, in rare cases, spread between humans through close contact.
Argentina’s health ministry has said it will trap and analyze rats in the southern city of Ushuaia, the ship’s birthplace.
Three patients were removed from the ship on Wednesday. Two have been hospitalized in the Netherlands, while the other has been transferred to Germany for treatment.
Martin Anstee, the leader of the expedition, was one of the two in hospital in Holland, according to Sky News, and told them he was “doing well” but “there are still a lot of tests to be done.”
The Duesseldorf University Clinic, which is treating the German expatriate, said he was not a confirmed patient but a contact person who was undergoing tests.
The plane carrying the third patient landed in the Netherlands on Thursday morning, and they were taken to a hospital in Nijmegen, in the east of the country.
In Switzerland, a person admitted to hospital on Monday, May 4, was stable but showed symptoms consistent with hantavirus infection, including low-grade fever, body aches, and cough, the hospital said.
The Danish national who was aboard the Hondius has returned home and has been advised to self-isolate as a precaution, Danish health officials said. The person is assessed as being at low risk, having no close contact with those who later became ill.
Leaders of ships to Spain
The MV Hondius, with dozens still on board, left Cape Verde on Wednesday, where it had been detained for several days, and is expected to dock in Spain’s Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, on Sunday, May 10, the EU Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said.
No one is yet showing any symptoms of hantavirus on the ship, the ECDC said.
Once they arrive in Tenerife, if they are still in good health, all non-Spanish citizens are expected to be sent back to their countries, while the 14 Spanish passengers will be quarantined in a military hospital in Madrid. – Rappler.com
