THE MIND OF THE PEOPLE – The hantavirus outbreak that attacked the MV Hondius cruise ship continues to attract international attention after killing three people and sparking a cross-border investigation. The Dutch-flagged ship previously sailed from Argentina to Cape Verde before a number of passengers began experiencing serious symptoms such as fever, respiratory problems, pneumonia and shock.
To date, at least eight cases are suspected to be related to the outbreak and five of them have been confirmed positive for hantavirus based on laboratory results.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus found was the Andean strain, a type of hantavirus that originates from South America and is known to be transmitted between humans through close contact.
Also read: Where did the Hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship come from and what will happen next?
The initial suspected source of the spread was a bird watching trip taken by several passengers in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the ship. This area is known to be a habitat for mice that carry the Andean virus.
This case is of great concern because most hantaviruses are generally spread through the urine, feces or saliva of rodents which are inhaled by humans in the form of dust or droplets.
A number of infected passengers have been evacuated to various countries, including South Africa, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. Health authorities in a number of countries are now also carrying out contact tracing of people who had interacted with the victim.
MV Hondius itself is scheduled to head to the Canary Islands before the passengers are returned to their respective countries under strict health supervision.
Also read: Hantavirus is more deadly than Covid-19? This is the explanation
List of MV Hondius Passengers and Crew by Country
Based on data from Oceanwide Expeditions which also includes 30 passengers who disembarked on April 24, the total passengers and crew on MV Hondius came from at least 28 countries.
The Philippines is the country with the largest number of crew, while the United Kingdom and the United States dominate the number of passengers.
Here’s the complete list:
- Philippines: 38 people (crew)
- UK: 31 people (passengers and crew)
- United States: 23 people (passengers)
- Netherlands: 16 people (passengers and crew)
- Spain: 14 people (passengers and crew)
- Germany: 9 people (passengers and crew)
- Canada: 6 people (passengers)
- France: 5 people (passengers)
- Türkiye: 5 people (passengers)
- Ukraine: 5 people (crew)
- Australia: 4 people (passengers)
- Belgium: 2 people (passengers)
- Ireland: 2 people (passengers)
- Switzerland: 2 people (passengers)
- New Zealand: 2 people (passengers)
- India: 2 people (crew)
- Greece: 1 person (passenger)
- Japan: 1 person (passenger)
- Argentina: 1 person (passenger)
- Denmark: 1 person (passenger)
- St Kitts and Nevis: 1 person (passenger)
- Singapore: 1 person (passenger)
- Sweden: 1 person (passenger)
- Poland: 1 person (crew)
- Russia: 1 person (crew)
- Portugal: 1 person (crew)
- Montenegro: 1 person (crew)
- Guatemala: 1 person (crew)
The total number of passengers and crew recorded reached 178 people. With the incubation period for hantavirus which can last up to six weeks, international health authorities are still monitoring the possibility of new cases emerging. ***
