As of late Monday, at least one chapter in the saga of hantavirus cases linked with the expedition cruise ship m/v Hondius has finally closed.
The cruise company, Oceanwide Expeditions, announced that all passengers and a number of crewmembers have officially disembarked from the ship. All told, 87 guests have left the ship, along with 35 crew. Those onboard the ship during the outbreak have been flown back to their home countries and will enter quarantine.
The body of a German passenger who died on the ship on May 2 is still onboard. As well, all guest luggage is also still on the ship.
A Limited Crew Guides the Ship to Rotterdam
For roughly a week passengers had been stuck on the ship, having to reroute from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands in order to disembark.
Now, Hondius carries just 25 crew and two medical staff as it sails to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The vessel is expected to arrive either Sunday or Monday.
Meanwhile, those still onboard are being “monitored” according to the company. The ship is also set to “undergo a thorough cleaning and disinfection process.”
“The specific protocols are currently being finalised in close consultation with RIVM [the Dutch public health entity] and GGD Rotterdam,” the company said in a statement.
It’s not clear how long the process to clean and ready the ship will take. The next cruise shown on the cruise line’s website is an Icelandic trip set to depart on May 29, a little over two weeks from now.
Nine Confirmed Cases of Hantavirus, But More May Come
This ordeal began when M/V Hondius departed Argentina on April 1. The small ship with just about 150 passengers and crew onboard had a passenger die on April 11.
On April 24, that passenger’s body was disembarked in Saint Helena, along with his wife. Three days later on April 27, the wife became sick and passed away. That same day a seriously ill passenger was evacuated to South Africa and then on May 2, a third passenger passed away on the ship.
All told, nine cases of hantavirus have been confirmed and there are two additional suspected cases. Three people have died. One person, a French passenger now hospitalized in Paris is said to be critically ill and is in “the final stage of supportive care.”
Despite that, officials appear confident that the outbreak of hantavirus will not lead to a larger spread or a pandemic.
“Let me be crystal clear: The risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low. The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily, and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who is already symptomatic,” said Dr. Brian Christine, HHS’ assistant secretary for health.
However, the virus reportedly has a long incubation period of more than 40 days, so “we might see more cases in the coming weeks,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization.
For now at least, there are likely lots of people simply happy to be off the ship.
