The hantavirus-infected ship that was refused entry to Cape Verde is suspected to have displayed rare human-to-human transmission of the usually rodent-borne illness.The World Health Organization has confirmed that there are no rats on board the ship, meaning that transmission could've only happened between humans.The MV Hondius has been struck with multiple suspected cases of the rare hantavirus on the return leg of a luxury cruise to Antarctica.At the time of writing, officials have confirmed that a Dutch couple and a German national have died, while a British national has been taken off the ship and is in intensive care in South Africa. It has also been confirmed that there are four Canadians on board the Dutch-flagged vessel. There are still three suspected cases on board as the ship remains off the coast of Cape Verde. The ship is reportedly targeting the Spanish Canary Islands as a possible port to disembark, but nothing has been confirmed..The WHO has said that they believe the spread of the illness was mainly between individuals who shared close spaces together on the ship, like the Dutch couple who passed away."Some people on the ship were couples; they were sharing rooms, so that's quite intimate contact," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the WHO."We do believe that there may be some human-to-human transmission that's happening among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who have shared cabins," she continued.It is also believed that the strain of the virus has come from South America, where the illness is more prevalent, from either passengers from the continent or from bird-watching stops the ship made on islands where birds and rodents both live.Argentina, the country where the cruise began, is the country with the highest rate of hantavirus cases in the Americas.
