How hantavirus spread aboard an Antarctic cruise ship: Explainer

The hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius began after a Dutch couple travelled through Argentina and Chile before boarding the Antarctic cruise ship in Ushuaia on April 1.
Ten days later, the 70-year-old Dutch man developed respiratory distress and died onboard. His body was removed at St Helena in the South Atlantic on April 24, where his wife also disembarked. She later collapsed while attempting to board a flight to Amsterdam from Johannesburg and died on April 26.
A British passenger was evacuated from the ship via Ascension Island on April 27 and later tested positive for hantavirus in South Africa. On May 2, a German woman died onboard near Cape Verde.
Three more people were evacuated on May 6, prompting the World Health Organization to classify the situation as an outbreak.
The vessel later reached Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, where authorities began screening and repatriating around 140 passengers and crew from about 20 countries.

Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan explains.

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