The operator of the cruise ship stricken by a hantavirus outbreak said Monday that it is preparing to evacuate two ill crew members and then find a port where the rest of the people on board can be screened.
“Oceanwide Expeditions is still dealing with a serious medical situation on board the m/v Hondius, which is currently off the coast of Cape Verde,” the company said in a statement on its website.
The World Health Organization said there is one confirmed case of the deadly rodent-borne respiratory sickness linked to the Hondius — a British national being treated in the intensive care unit of a Johannesburg hospital. There are five other suspected cases: the two crew members and three passengers who died.
There are 147 passengers still on board the cruise from Argentina to Antarctica, all of them in isolation. One of them vented about the situation on Instagram.
“What’s happening right now is very real for all of us here,” Jake Rosmarin, a travel vlogger, said tearfully in a video.
“We’re not just a story. We’re not just headlines. We’re people — people with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty and that’s the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home.”
Rosmarin later updated his Instagram story to praise the crew of the Dutch-flagged ship for “doing everything they can to keep us safe and informed.”
The nightmare at sea began on April 11 when a Dutch passenger died on board. His wife left the ship with his body in St. Helena in the South Atlantic on April 24, and she fell ill and died.
On April 27, the British passenger fell ill and was evacuated. On May 2, a German passenger died on board.
“In addition, there are currently two crew members on board with acute respiratory symptoms, one mild and one severe. Both require urgent medical care,” the company said. “At this time, no other persons with symptoms have been identified.”
Local medical personnel have visited the ship off Cape Verde, but no one has been let off. “The option of sailing on to Las Palmas or Tenerife are being considered to be the gateway for disembarkation, where further medical screening and handling could take place,” Oceanwide said.
Hantavirus infections are usually linked to exposure to the feces or urine of infected rodents and are not easily transmitted between humans.
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