Cruise ship passengers who have traveled early have contracted hantavirus in the US, around the world

The effort to monitor the spread of hantavirus on a ship off the west coast of Africa is intensifying, including in the United States, after health officials confirmed that the virus on the ship is a rare form that can be transmitted from person to person.

Twelve countries are currently monitoring people who disembarked before confirmed cases of hantavirus, the World Health Organization said at a press conference on Thursday. Those countries are Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Saint Kitts And Nevis, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

Two Georgia residents and one in Virginia are among those being monitored for symptoms a rare and often fatal disease after returning home from the MV Hondius, the cruise ship at the epicenter of the outbreak. All three are in good health and showing no symptoms of the virus, according to the Georgia and Virginia health departments. An unspecified number of California residents are also being monitored, the state Department of Health said, none showing signs of illness or infection.

But three people on the cruise have died, including a couple from the Netherlands and a woman from Germany, according to the World Health Organisation.

The husband of the Dutch couple died on board the ship on April 11, the company said. However, Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that owns the ship, confirmed on Thursday that 30 tourists – including six Americans – disembarked from the Hondius in Saint Helena, an incredibly remote island in the middle of the South Atlantic, on April 24, and returned alone to their countries.

“No samples were taken [from the man who died on board] and because his symptoms were similar to other respiratory infections, hantavirus was not suspected,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, at a press conference on Thursday.

Among the 30 who went down was the wife of a Dutch man who died at sea, according to Oceanwide Expeditions. His condition worsened on a flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg on April 25, WHO said. He then briefly boarded a KLM passenger plane in Johannesburg, but was not allowed to fly due to his medical condition, the airline said. He died in South Africa the next day after being denied permission to fly home, according to the WHO.

A British man who showed symptoms on board was evacuated on April 27 for medical treatment in South Africa. His case was the first to be confirmed as hantavirus on May 4, Oceanwide Expeditions said. The man is still in hospital, but his condition is improving, WHO said.

Officials then confirmed that the Dutch woman’s blood tested positive for hantavirus. KLM said it was informed of the test results on May 5 and informed everyone on the flight that the woman was on board.

South African authorities said on Wednesday that the type of hantavirus had been identified in a Dutch woman and a man in hospital He added difficulty. The Andes strain, found mainly in Argentina and Chile, can be transmitted from person to person, unlike other strains of the virus, which are caused by direct contact with rodents.

“In previous outbreaks of the Andes virus, human-to-human transmission was associated with close and long-term contact, especially between family members, close partners and people providing medical care,” Tedros said at a press conference. “That seems to be the case at the moment.”

Worrying about the virus

Health experts say the risk of the disease spreading is still unknown.

“The risk of an epidemic is low,” said CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder. “Hantavirus doesn’t spread the way the flu or COVID does. But this is the kind of incident that tests whether global health systems are working.”

The two Brits who were on board the Hondius have since returned to the UK independently and are being monitored, according to the UK Health Security Agency. No one is currently reporting symptoms, and they have been advised to self-isolate, the agency said in a statement, adding, “The risk to the public remains very low.”

Another person who came down from Saint Helena was tested for the disease in Switzerland and tested positive for the Andes strain, the WHO said.

Three people with suspected cases of hantavirus were flown on Wednesday from the ship, including German and Dutch passengers and a British crew member, Oceanwide Expeditions said. The Dutch passengers and the British crew were treated in the Netherlands and both are stable, the WHO said. The German passenger was asymptomatic and returned to Germany, the WHO said.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement Wednesday night that the CDC has been “coordinating with domestic and international partners” since learning about the outbreak.

The ship left Cape Verde late Wednesday and is heading north to the Canary Islands. The trip is expected to take three or four days, although some Canary Islands officials have already said they do not want the ship to stop at the largest island in the Spanish archipelago, Tenerife, as planned.

“I want to express my strong opposition to the arrival of the Hondius ship in the port of Granadilla,” José Domingo Regalado, mayor of Tenerife’s maritime community of Granadilla de Abona, said in Spanish in a video statement on Wednesday. “What we are asking for is that measures be taken, because they can be transferred to the nearest airport to their countries of origin so that they can be isolated and treated by their health system if they need it.”

Regalado added that the decision to bring passengers to the Canary Islands showed “no understanding.”

Canarias President Fernando Clavijo announced on Thursday that the ship would be allowed to stop at the islands, but not enter there.

Argentina offers help in treating the virus

In Argentina, where the Andes strain originated, the country’s health minister said it was providing “technical power, knowledge and available resources to help health systems that need it.”

“Yesterday it was confirmed that the variant corresponds to the Andes strain, which has a history of distribution in Chubut, Río Negro and Neuquén and southern Chile,” said the Ministry of Health. “Considering that the ship left Argentina on April 1, our country is working closely with the international agencies involved and all the countries concerned to contain this outbreak and ensure proper management of the cases.”

The country said no related cases have been reported in Argentina.

Argentina’s health ministry also said no cases of hantavirus have been reported in Tierro del Fuego since mandatory notification began in 1996. The ship departed from the capital of that region, Ushuaia.

The deceased Dutch couple arrived in Argentina on November 27 and spent months traveling around the country and neighboring Chile and Uruguay before returning to Argentina on March 27 and boarding the MV Hondius on April 1.

“Before boarding the ship, the first two cases had gone through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on a bird-watching trip, which included visiting areas where there was a species of rat known to carry the Andes virus,” Tedros said on Thursday. “WHO is working with the health authorities in Argentina to understand the movement of the couple, and I thank the Argentine government for its cooperation, given the experience and expertise in the Andes virus.”