Nations race to trace passengers of hantavirus-hit cruise ship

Cruise operator says 29 passengers left the MV Hondius in St Helena on April 24, after the first death

Countries worldwide scrambled on Thursday to trace people who had left the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak before it got marooned off the coast of Cabo Verde, to prevent further spread of the disease.

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius. Eight ‌people, including a Swiss citizen, were suspected to have contracted the virus, according to the World Health Organization.

The vessel’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said 29 passengers left the ship on April 24 on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena, where it made a stop on its way to Cabo Verde before the outbreak was reported. The Dutch government said around 40 passengers had disembarked there.

The people who left the ship to return to their home countries were of at least 12 different nationalities, Oceanwide Expeditions said. It added that there were also two people whose nationalities were unknown.

One of those to disembark was the wife of the Dutchman who had died aboard the ship on April 11. She fell sick herself and died before she could reach the Netherlands.

Dutch airline KLM on Wednesday said it had taken the woman off ⁠a plane in Johannesburg on April 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition.