Two hantavirus cases confirmed, five more suspected on stranded cruise ship

Two cases of ⁠the deadly hantavirus have been confirmed, and five are suspected among people who fell ill on a cruise ship being held in the Atlantic near Cape Verde, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Among the seven cases , three people have died, one was critically ill and three have mild symptoms, the WHO said in a statement late on Monday. Recommended Stories list of 3 items end of list At least 147 passengers and crew are still stuck on the ⁠MV Hondius, which is carrying mostly British, American and Spanish passengers on a trip that set off from Argentina in March and is now off the coast of West Africa. The three fatalities were a Dutch couple and a German national, officials said, and a British national was evacuated from the ship from Ascension and was being treated in South Africa. The UN health body, however, reiterated its advice that the risk to the wider public is low for the virus , which only rarely passes between humans. On Tuesday, the WHO said it was trying to trace people on a flight between the island of Saint Helena and Johannesburg taken by the Dutch woman who died of the hantavirus. “Contact tracing for passengers on the flight has been initiated,” it said. Evacuations planned for symptomatic passengers Despite the deadly outbreak, “the atmosphere on board MV Hondius remains calm, with passengers generally composed,” the ship’s operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, said in a statement late on Monday. …