International health authorities are continuing to monitor a worrying outbreak of hantavirus aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, after the number of confirmed infections rose to five, following the deaths of a Dutch couple who were among the passengers on the voyage that departed from Ushuaia for Cape Verde, carrying 149 people including passengers and crew.
Suspicions of infections began after a Dutch passenger died suddenly, before his wife met the same fate just days later. A British passenger was later transferred to South Africa for treatment after his condition was described as critical. Medical tests then showed that he was infected with hantavirus, prompting health investigations and the recording of additional infections on board, amid suspicions that other cases are still being diagnosed.
Hantavirus is known to be a rare, non-emerging virus, having previously been recorded in parts of Europe, Africa and South America. Its danger, however, lies in its severe complications, which can affect the lungs and kidneys and raise mortality rates to around 40 percent in some cases.
According to specialist doctors, the infection is usually transmitted through exposure to rodent waste, while the current outbreak is raising fears of the possibility that one strain may be spreading between humans, although this is not yet considered scientifically common.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, before progressing in some patients to acute respiratory complications affecting the lungs and causing shortness of breath.
Diagnosis is made through specialized blood tests, while no direct treatment is available for the virus. Medical care therefore relies on relieving symptoms and supporting respiratory function, particularly in advanced cases.
