A British crew member requires urgent medical care, and a passenger from the UK remains in a critical but stable condition following a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Three people have died, and two cases of the virus have been confirmed, tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions said.
The cases include a British passenger receiving care in South Africa and a newly confirmed case in a Dutch woman who passed away on April 27 after disembarking.
The company said in a statement on Monday that two staff members — one British and one Dutch — were continuing to show “acute respiratory symptoms”, one mild and one severe.
The suspected outbreak was reported on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde.
British woman and husband found dead after unsuccessful Atlantic crossing
US travel blogger Jake Rosmarin is a passenger on the cruise and spoke out on Monday about the situation, saying: "We’re not just a story, we’re not just headlines, we’re people. People with families, with lives, with people waiting for us at home."
He said that he was grateful to the crew, who had been handling the situation "to the best of their ability".
"All we want right now is to feel safe, to have clarity and to get home," he added.
Oceanwide Expeditions confirmed the British tourist remains in a “critical but stable” condition after being medically evacuated to South Africa on April 27, where they are being treated in an intensive care unit in Johannesburg.
The ship’s journey began on April 1, and a passenger died on board on April 11, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
The cause of death could not be determined on board. On April 24, this passenger was disembarked on St Helena, with his wife accompanying the repatriation.
The wife became unwell during the return journey and died. Authorities later confirmed she tested positive for a variant of hantavirus.
Both passengers were Dutch nationals.
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