Deadly Hanta virus outbreak on MV Hontius luxury ship; Two Indians on board

New Delhi: As news of the deadly Hanta virus outbreak on the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius in the Atlantic Ocean continues to spread, it has been confirmed that two Indians are on board. The Dutch company that operates the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions, has confirmed this.

However, no information has been released about the current health status of these two Indian crew members, whether they have had contact with infected people, or whether they have been adequately tested. It is believed that they work on the lower decks of the ship. According to information provided by Oceanwide Expeditions, more clarity on the health status of the crew members will only be available when the ship arrives in Tenerife, Spain, on May 11.

Of the 149 people on board, 61 are crew members. Of these, 38 are from the Philippines and five each from Ukraine and the Netherlands. Three passengers have already died and eight have tested positive for the virus on the ship. Investigators believe the virus was contracted during a birdwatching trip in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1. 

The passengers may have contracted the disease by inhaling particles from rat feces there. Although the virus is not usually transmitted through the air, the 'Andean strain', which can spread from person to person through close contact, has been found on the ship. Reports indicate that if infected with the virus, it can severely affect the lungs and kidneys and the risk of death is up to 50 percent. The ship is currently sailing from Cape Verde to Tenerife, Spain.

The passengers will be disembarked by May 11 and the ship will be disinfected after that, the World Health Organization said. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that more cases could be reported as the virus has an incubation period of up to eight weeks. The MV Hondius set sail from Argentina on April 1 on a cruise to Antarctica. The first confirmed case of the virus was a Dutch national on April 6. He died on April 11. His body was brought ashore from the ship, which was anchored on the island of Saint Helena, south of Atlanta, on April 24. His wife also left for her home country. However, the infected person died in Johannesburg. There are currently 149 people from 23 countries on board the ship. Of these, 80 are passengers. Most are from Britain, the US and Spain. The ship departed with 114 passengers. The Andes variant of the Hanta virus is usually transmitted from rats. The 'Andes' variant of the virus, which has more than 30 variants, was found on the ship. This variant is transmitted from human to human. There is no specific medicine or vaccine available for the virus.