Four Australians are among the 88 passengers currently stranded aboard the MV Hondius, a polar expedition vessel moored off Cape Verde following a suspected hantavirus outbreak that has claimed at least three lives.
None of the reported cases involve the Australian passengers.
The MV Hondius, operated by Dutch tour company Oceanwide Expeditions, was sailing between Argentina and Cape Verde when the outbreak occurred. A Dutch couple – aged 70 and 69 – are among the dead, along with a third passenger from Germany who died on May 2, though the cause of that death has not yet been established. The Dutch man died on the island of Saint Helena; his wife passed away at a hospital in Kempton Park, South Africa.
Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed four Aussies were onboard the ship on Monday night.
A British man, 69, who fell ill aboard the vessel has tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated at a private health facility in Johannesburg. Two further symptomatic passengers remain aboard and require urgent medical evacuation, though Cape Verdean authorities had not yet granted authorisation for them to disembark.
Oceanwide Expeditions has confirmed that hantavirus has not been established in either of the two passengers still requiring medical care, and said the virus has not been confirmed as the cause of the three deaths associated with the voyage.
“The only confirmed case of hantavirus is the passenger who was medically evacuated and is now being treated in Johannesburg,” the company said.
The operator said it is working with the World Health Organization, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it prepares for possible medical repatriation. Sailing to Las Palmas or Tenerife is being considered as a disembarkation point where further medical screening could take place.
Strict isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring are in place aboard the vessel, with all passengers informed and supported.
The WHO has confirmed an investigation is underway.
