A deadly outbreak of the rare hantavirus unfolded over the course of weeks on a cruise ship that sailed from Argentina toward Antarctica and then across the Atlantic Ocean, stopping at or near remote islands on the way as passengers and crew members fell sick, according to information from the cruise operator, the World Health Organization and ship tracking data.
It shows nearly a month passed between when an elderly Dutch man fell sick and died in the South Atlantic and laboratory tests in South Africa — more than 3,500 kilometers (2,174 miles) away — first confirmed hantavirus infections.
Three passengers have died, one is in intensive care in a South African hospital, and three others, including the ship’s doctor, were evacuated from the ship Wednesday. Another man who left the ship earlier in the voyage tested positive in Switzerland.
More than 140 passengers and crew members were still on the MV Hondius ship as it departed the West African island nation of Cape Verde for Spain’s Canary Islands.
Tests on patients in South Africa and Switzerland showed it was a hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus, officials said.
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