Kamal Ghorui
About 40 passengers from a cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak previously disembarked on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena after the first passenger died, Dutch officials said Thursday.Authorities are now working to trace passengers and possible contacts after the outbreak left multiple people dead and several others ill, with new details emerging about earlier disembarkations during the voyage.The passengers, including the wife of a Dutch man who died, left the ship during a stop at the British territory, according to the Dutch foreign ministry, as cited by AP.The Dutch cruise company that operates the ship had earlier said the woman disembarked at St Helena with her husband’s body and later flew to South Africa on a commercial flight. She later died after collapsing at an airport in Johannesburg.However, the company had not confirmed that other passengers also left the ship at St. Helena.It has now emerged that a man tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland after he also disembarked at St Helena and flew home, though his exact movements remain unclear.Dutch authorities have not said where the other passengers who disembarked are currently located.Separately, a British man was evacuated from the ship to South Africa from Ascension Island a few days later, according to the company. Three other people, including the ship’s doctor, were also evacuated from the vessel near Cape Verde and taken to Europe for treatment on Wednesday.So far, three passengers have died in the outbreak, and several others are ill.
