Health officials around the world are working to trace the spread of deadly hantavirus which broke out on board a cruise ship in the Atlantic.
The MV Hondius has been at the centre of an international health scare since Saturday following the outbreak of the rare disease, which is spread by rodents.
Three people have died so far, and there are a total of eight confirmed cases linked to the ship, which was travelling from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde in Africa.
A British crew member who has been taken ill with the virus has been evacuated to the Netherlands. He has been identified as former police officer Mike Anstee, 56, who is now an expedition guide on the MV Hondius.
Last night, speaking from a Dutch hospital he said “I’m not doing too bad”.
Health officials believe the Dutch couple may have contracted the disease after visiting a landfill site on a birdwatching trip where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the disease.
The WHO has been trying to establish how the virus got on the ship, with the first person who died having developed symptoms on April 6.
A 70-year-old Dutch man, died on April 11 and his body remained on board until April 24, when it ‘was disembarked on St Helena, with his wife accompanying the repatriation’, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
23 other people disembarked at this point.
The man’s widow was taken ill on a flight from St Helena to South Africa, and she died on April 26 upon arrival at the emergency department of Johannesburg hospital.
Health officials are now trying to trace at least 80 passengers who were on board the same two flights as the Dutch woman before she died.
Prof Robin May, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) chief scientific officer, said that officials were trying to track down anyone who could have been either directly exposed to the virus aboard the ship or passengers who had been sitting next to those people on planes.
He added that the Foreign Office was working to repatriate the 22 British passengers trapped on board the 353ft exploration ship. They will be told to self-isolate for six weeks upon their return to the UK.
Brit Mr Anstee has been flown to the Netherlands after disembarking in Cape Verde for specialist treatment for the illness, which has killed three passengers from the ship.
The British national was serving as an expedition guide on the Dutch-flagged ship when he came down with a suspected case of the killer illness.
He told broadcasters on Wednesday evening that “I have no idea how long I’ll be in hospital” from isolation.
