THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dozens of passengers left a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak on April 24 without contact tracing, nearly two weeks after the first passenger died on board, the ship operator and Dutch officials said Thursday.
The company had previously said the body of the Dutch man who died on April 11 was taken off the ship on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where his wife also disembarked. She then flew to South Africa and died there.
The company said Thursday 29 passengers left the vessel, while the Dutch Foreign Ministry put the number at about 40. The company had not previously acknowledged that dozens more people left the ship at that time.
The people who left the ship to return to their home countries were of at least 12 different nationalities, Oceanwide Expeditions said. It said there were also two people whose nationalities were unknown.
Authorities in South Africa and Europe are trying to trace contacts of any passengers who got off the ship. It emerged Wednesday that a man tested positive for hantavirus in Switzerland after he also disembarked at St. Helena and flew home, though his precise movements aren’t clear.
Dutch authorities did not confirm where other passengers who disembarked are now.
A British man was evacuated from the ship to South Africa from Ascension Island days later, according to the company, while three people, including the ship’s doctor, were evacuated while the ship was near Cape Verde and were taken to Europe for treatment on Wednesday.
Three passengers have died in the outbreak, and several others are sick.
The Associated Press
