Three passengers of the m/v Hondius flying the Dutch flag and traveling from Argentina to Cape Verde have died and one passenger is in intensive care in Johannesburg, while the Netherlands will lead the repatriation of two sick crew members. The cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions announced this in a press release. But what happened?
According to the World Health Organization, at least one of the passengers tested positive for hantavirus, a family of viruses that can cause, among other things, hemorrhagic fever.
At the moment, the Cape Verdean authorities have not authorized the disembarkation of people to receive treatment, but medical staff have boarded the ship to assess the conditions of the patients.
Hantavirus or “mouse fever”: the symptoms and how the infection is transmitted
Hantavirus refers to a strain of virus carried by rodents, transmitted primarily to humans through inhalation of airborne particles from dried rodent droppings.
Infections typically occur when the virus is transmitted through the air from a rodent’s urine, droppings or saliva, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Therefore, contagion does not actually occur from person to person.
These infections can have very different intensities. In some cases they mainly affect the kidneys, causing forms of nephritis and, in more serious cases, hemorrhages. In others, they affect the lungs, with respiratory symptoms that can become severe. At the base there is damage to the blood vessels: permeability increases, pressure drops and hemorrhagic manifestations can appear up to shock.
There are three main syndromes associated with hantaviruses:
Symptoms
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)
HPS is a serious and life-threatening disease that affects the lungs. Symptoms of HPS usually begin to appear 1 to 8 weeks after contact with an infected rodent.
Early symptoms may include:
About half of all HPS patients also experience:
Four to ten days after the initial stage of the disease, late symptoms of HPS appear. These symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. Patients may experience a feeling of tightness in the chest as the lungs fill with fluid.
HPS can be lethal. 38% of people who develop respiratory symptoms may die from the disease.
Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
HFRS is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that affects the kidneys. Symptoms of HFRS usually develop within 1 to 2 weeks of exposure. In rare cases, they can take up to 8 weeks to develop. Initial symptoms begin suddenly and include:
People may have facial flushing, inflammation or redness of the eyes, or a rash. Later symptoms may include:
The severity of the disease varies depending on the virus causing the infection.
