The number of victims of the possible hantavirus outbreak recorded aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship sailing between Argentina and Cape Verde has risen to three.
"To date, one case of hantavirus infection ( WHAT IS IT? ) has been laboratory-confirmed and five other cases are suspected. Of the six people affected, three have died and one is currently hospitalized in intensive care in South Africa," said the World Health Organization, which is monitoring the case.
Meanwhile, attempts are underway to reconstruct how the infection may have originated. According to epidemiologist Michael Baker , quoted by the BBC, the passengers with suspected hantavirus were infected before boarding the cruise ship, due to the virus's long incubation period.
According to Baker, it is rare for humans to contract hantavirus and it is "very unusual" for the disease to develop on a cruise ship.
Asked what measures should be taken next, Professor Baker said the outbreak needed to be "thoroughly investigated" to see if there were preventable factors, including travel itineraries to determine whether passengers were exposed to high-risk environments.
(Unioneonline)
