Three people believed to have been infected with hantavirus have been evacuated from a cruise ship off Cape Verde and are being taken to the Netherlands, the WHO chief said Wednesday.

World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “the overall public health risk remains low” from the alert over the rare disease usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva

“Three suspected hantavirus case patients have just been evacuated from the ship and are on their way to receive medical care in the Netherlands,” Tedros said on X.

The MV Hondius cruise ship has been at the centre of an international alert since Saturday, when the WHO was informed that three passengers had died and the suspected cause was hantavirus.

The Dutch-flagged ship set sail from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 on a voyage through the Atlantic Ocean and has been anchored off Cape Verde since Sunday.

It counted 88 passengers and 59 crew members, with 23 nationalities onboard, the WHO said.

To date, three hantavirus cases have been confirmed, including one of the fatalities, and five others are suspected.

Wednesday’s evacuation — of two crew members and one other person believed to have contracted the virus — took place in coordination with the WHO, the ship’s Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions and national authorities from Cape Verde, Britain and the Netherlands, Tedros said.

“WHO continues to work with the ship’s operators to closely monitor the health of passengers and crew, working with countries to support appropriate medical follow-up and evacuation where needed,” he said.

“Monitoring and follow-up for passengers on board and for those who have already disembarked has been initiated in collaboration with the ship’s operators and national health authorities,” he added.

“At this stage, the overall public health risk remains low,” he said.

AFP