Nearly 40 Passengers from Hantavirus Cruise Ship Disperse Across Countries Without Tracing

Nearly 40 passengers exposed to a deadly hantavirus outbreak walked off a cruise ship without contact tracing and scattered across multiple countries, prompting authorities to search for them.

Oceanwide Expeditions, operator of the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, said Thursday that 29 passengers disembarked on April 24, almost two weeks after the first death aboard. Dutch officials estimated the number closer to 40.

The passengers came from at least a dozen nationalities and went back to home countries in Europe, Africa and beyond. The company said two passengers had unknown nationalities, complicating the international effort.

Health officials confirmed that at least one passenger, a man who returned to Switzerland, tested positive for the Andes strain of hantavirus. That rare variant can spread person-to-person through close contact.

The outbreak killed at least three people and sickened several others as the virus spread among passengers.

A Dutch man died on April 11. His body was removed to the South Atlantic island of St. Helena. His wife left the ship there, flew to South Africa and collapsed at Johannesburg airport, where she died.

Argentine officials told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the couple likely picked up the virus from rodents at a landfill during a bird-watching tour in Ushuaia. They contracted it before boarding.

Hantavirus typically spreads through inhaling contaminated rodent droppings. The World Health Organization said person-to-person transmission is uncommon but possible.

After the Dutch man's death, more evacuations took place. A British man flew to South Africa from Ascension Island, the company said. Three others, including the ship's doctor, were airlifted to Europe for treatment as the vessel stayed near Cape Verde.

With passengers spread across continents and sparse records of their paths, officials in South Africa and Europe work to trace movements and find possible contacts.