Countries around the world are urgently tracking down those who left the tourist ship that caught the hantavirus outbreak before the ship got stuck off Cape Verde, in order to prevent the epidemic from continuing to spread.
Three people - including a Dutch couple and a German citizen - died in the outbreak on the ship MV Hondius. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 8 others, including a Swiss citizen, suspected of being infected with the virus.
The Dutch government said on May 6 that about 40 passengers had left the ship at Saint Helena Island, where the ship stopped on its journey to Cape Verde before the outbreak was detected.
Authorities have not yet determined the whereabouts of many of these passengers.
One of the people leaving the train was the wife of the Dutch man who died on the train on April 11. She also became ill and passed away before she could return to the Netherlands.
On May 6, Dutch airline KLM announced that this woman had been taken off a flight in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 25 due to deteriorating health.
The virus strain discovered in the victims has been identified as the Andes strain, a type that can be transmitted between humans when very close contact.
Experts emphasize that the possibility of spread is very rare, but the outbreak is currently putting health authorities in high alert in many countries.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on May 6 that it is closely monitoring the situation related to US citizens on board, and affirmed that the risk to US citizens is currently extremely low.
On May 7, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot informed that a French citizen had been in contact with the person who developed the disease, but has not yet shown symptoms.
The Argentine Ministry of Health said it will trap and analyze rodents in the southernmost city of Ushuaia, the starting point of MV Hondius.
The MV Hondius, carrying nearly 150 people, is expected to dock at Tenerife port in Spain in the Canary Islands on May 9.
When arriving in Tenerife, if they are still healthy, all non-Spanish passengers will be taken home, while 14 Spanish passengers will be isolated at a military hospital in Madrid.
Three patients were evacuated from the ship on May 6. One person was hospitalized in the Netherlands, while another was transferred to Germany for treatment.
The plane carrying the 3rd patient was scheduled to land in the Netherlands on May 7, after being delayed due to an incident with the patient's life support system.
