Two people in serious condition who were evacuated off a cruise ship with a confirmed epidemic of deadly hantavirus have arrived in the Netherlands for treatment, according to Oceanwide Expeditions.
The operator also stated that a third passenger in stable condition was on board a delayed evacuation flight.
The MV Hondius is now under route to Spain’s Canary Islands after spending three days anchored near Cape Verde, a West African archipelago.
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The three evacuees were British, Dutch and German. Oceanwide Expeditions said the 65-year-old German evacuee was “closely associated” with a German woman who died on board the ship on 2 May.
The British evacuee has been identified by several media outlets as 56-year-old ex-police officer Martin Anstee, who is understood to be in a “stable condition” in the Netherlands.
A 41-year-old Dutch crew member is among those evacuated.
Three individuals have perished on the ship since it set sail from Argentina a month ago.
Meanwhile, two US states have confirmed to the BBC that they are tracking three passengers who returned to the country after disembarking earlier. All are not currently exhibiting symptoms.
Georgia’s public health service reported that two residents were being monitored and were in good health, with no evidence of illness.
According to the Arizona Department of Health, one resident is being monitored but is not showing any symptoms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also confirmed that a man who returned to Switzerland after disembarking the ship tested positive for hantavirus and is being treated at a hospital in Zurich.
“The patient had responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
According to Oceanwide Expeditions, 146 individuals from 23 different nations are still aboard the MV Hondius under “strict precautionary measures”.
In its most recent update, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported eight cases of hantavirus – three confirmed and five suspected – in persons on the ship.
South African health officials said the Andes strain of hantavirus, which is common in Latin America, where the cruise started, was discovered in two of the confirmed patients after tests by the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The vessel had been anchored near Cape Verde before it set off towards the Canary Islands on Wednesday.
Spanish authorities agreed to the move, but the Canary Islands’ president has opposed the plan.