Health authorities across several countries are racing to trace an outbreak of the hantavirus. The overall goal is “containment”, after the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that five confirmed infections had been identified among people connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius.
Hantavirus Outbreak Kills 3 On A Cruise Ship
According to a report by CNN, three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, have died since the vessel departed Argentina last month. The first suspected case was a 70-year-old Dutchman, who suddenly fell ill on the ship with a fever, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, South Africa’s Health Department told CNN. He died on board on April 11th.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, hantaviruses are a family of viruses found around the world that can cause serious illnesses and death. These viruses cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). They are spread mainly by rodents.
This particular outbreak has been linked to the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare but potentially severe virus that in some cases can spread between humans through close contact.
While at least 30 passengers disembarked at the remote South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in late April and several critical cases were air-evacuated to Europe this week, those remaining passengers are scheduled to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands this weekend before they are flown back to their respective home countries. –CNN
“Over 12 to 24 hours, it became clear that there were a number of people sick and that they were getting sicker. And I sort of fell into the role of becoming the ship doctor,” Dr. Steven Kornfeld, a physician who was holidaying on the cruise, told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
This situation is still unfolding, as several passengers disembarked and made their way through various countries.
Similarities to the COVID-19 scamdemic have already been noted by mainstream media outlets and fear mongers. What many remember, however, was the obvious regression into tyranny as the ruling class threatened people with imprisonment for refusing to quarantine because of a virus that was less severe than a common cold for most people.
Tyranny Alert: Americans To Be ARRESTED For Not Quarantining For COVID-19