Here is a roundup of which countries have confirmed or probable cases of nationals infected by hantavirus after the outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Eight cases have been confirmed and two are listed as “probable”, according to the UN’s top health body and certain national health authorities, with citizens of six countries affected. Three people have died, with two of those confirmed as having hantavirus and one probable case.
Other suspected cases and potential close contacts of infected people are being investigated, according to health authorities.
Britain
Two British nationals have been confirmed as infected and one is classed as a “probable” case.
One British man became ill on April 24 with signs of fever and pneumonia and was evacuated three days later from the Atlantic island of Ascension to South Africa, where he was placed in intensive care.
Hantavirus was confirmed in his case on May 2 and the Andes strain was confirmed through sequencing.
A second British man working as a guide on the ship reported symptoms on April 27 and tested positive on May 6.
He was evacuated to the Netherlands on May 7 from Cape Verde and was stable while being treated in isolation.
A third British man left the Hondius on April 14 on the South Atlantic Archipelago of Tristan da Cunha and was treated in isolation there.
He reported symptoms on April 28. The WHO listed him as a “probable case” pending laboratory results.
British paratroopers and medics parachuted onto the island to deliver urgent medical supplies for him, ministers said.
Germany
A German woman who had a fever on April 28, and later developed pneumonia, died on May 2 on board the ship.
A post-mortem sample was sent to the Netherlands with the evacuated patients, where tests confirmed infection by the Andes virus.
Her body remained on board the Hondius, which was due to leave for the Netherlands from the Spanish island of Tenerife late Monday.
Switzerland
A Swiss man disembarked from the Hondius in St Helena on April 22 and flew to Switzerland on April 27 via South Africa and Qatar.
He started suffering symptoms on May 1 after arrival in Switzerland. He was treated in isolation and tested positive for the Andes virus on May 5.
France
A French woman repatriated from the Hondius felt unwell on late on May 10 tested positive for hantavirus, France’s Health Minister Stephanie Rist said.
United States
One of 17 American citizens repatriated from the ship tested “mildly PCR positive” for the virus while another had “mild symptoms”, the US Department of Health and Human Services said on May 10.













































