Three people have died on a cruise ship in the Atlantic, the WHO said Sunday, one a confirmed case of hantavirus, an illness usually transmitted to humans from rodents.
The outbreak occurred on the MV Hondius, travelling from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Cape Verde.
In its first statement on the crisis, Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed it was dealing with “a serious medical situation.”
The operator confirmed the three deaths, two on board and one after disembarking the ship. One passenger is in intensive care in Johannesburg and two others “require urgent medical care,” the statement said.
The World Health Organization said that the outbreak poses a low risk to the public.
“The risk to the wider public remains low. There is no need for panic or travel restrictions,” head of the WHO Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement, adding that hantavirus infections were “uncommon and usually linked to exposure to infected rodents”.
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