2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak

A hantavirus outbreak aboard Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius infected five people and caused three deaths, including Dutch and German passengers. Two Indian crew members are onboard. WHO confirmed limited human-to-human transmission but stressed the outbreak is not comparable to Covid-19 or a pandemic threat

London: At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.

The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.

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About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.

Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.

The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.

A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.

The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.

Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.

Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.

Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.

Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents – but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.

Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.

Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.

It also said the body of one deceased person-now known to be a Dutch man – was taken off the vessel.

Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.