A hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has left passengers from several countries, including the United States caught in a growing crisis. So far, three people have died, at least eight others have fallen ill and health officials are now trying to track passengers who returned home across different parts of the world without knowing they had been exposed..
How many Americans were on board?
Before the most recent evacuations, 149 people remained on the ship, including 88 passengers and 61 crew members. Among them were 17 US nationals, according to Newsweek.
But the bigger concern is the passengers who already left. At least 23 people left when the ship stopped at Saint Helena which is a small island in the South Atlantic on April 23 without being told they had potentially been exposed to hantavirus. According to the New York Post, those passengers included people from the US, Australia, Taiwan, England and the Netherlands, among others.
“The Australian went back to Australia, the one from Taiwan to Taiwan, the Americans to all corners of North America. The Englishman to England, the Dutch to their homes,” a passenger still on board told Spanish newspaper El Pais.
One of those who left has already tested positive. A Swiss man who returned home with his wife confirmed positive for hantavirus on Wednesday and was taken to a Zurich hospital, authorities said. A WHO representative told the New York Post that contact tracing is ongoing and that passengers who disembarked were informed of the outbreak by the ship’s operators.
A passenger still on board told El Pais that the warning came far too late. “We were in touch with them and kept asking ourselves, ‘When are they going to tell them something?’ Some people weren’t contacted until yesterday,.”
What is happening on the ship?
The MV Hondius left Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 for a trip to the Canary Islands. But the journey turned serious after a hantavirus outbreak was reported on board. The ship was later left waiting off the coast of Cape Verde after it was not allowed to dock, turning the wildlife cruise into a major health emergency, according to Newsweek.
Travel influencer Jake Rosmarin, who is on board described the mood in a statement to Newsweek on May 5: “Other than the two ill passengers that have already been referenced in the media, everyone else onboard is doing well and remains in good spirits. We are hopeful that this situation will be resolved soon. Oceanwide Expeditions and the crew have been doing everything within their ability to keep passengers safe, informed, and as comfortable as possible during this time.”
He also broke down in an Instagram video in which he said: “There’s a lot of uncertainty and that’s the hardest part. All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity, and to get home.”
