Praia: A medical aircraft has arrived on a cruise ship anchored off the coast of Cape Verde to transport patients infected with the Hantavirus to the Netherlands for treatment.
According to Thai News Agency, a medical plane departed from Luxembourg for Praia, Cape Verde, on Tuesday to facilitate the evacuation of three passengers infected with the hantavirus from the MV Hondius cruise ship. The ship has been anchored off Praia's coast for three days. The Cape Verdean Ministry of Health reported that two medical planes were scheduled to arrive on Tuesday night to evacuate the infected passengers. Two of them are in critical condition, while the third is a close contact of a German passenger who died earlier. The deceased's body remains on the ship.
Earlier, the three infected passengers were transferred from the cruise ship to smaller boats and then disembarked at Praia Airport to await the medical plane for treatment, which was expected to occur soon.
The MV Hondeus, carrying about 150 passengers and crew, remains anchored off Praia. Cape Verdean officials are providing emergency medical support but have not permitted the ship to dock to prevent virus spread. After the evacuation, the ship is expected to travel to Spain's Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities have agreed to receive it on humanitarian grounds for medical examinations and quarantine.
Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise ship's owner and operator, has not clarified how passengers contracted the virus, and no new infections have been reported on board. There are currently seven confirmed cases, three of whom have died. The World Health Organization suspects the virus may be the Andes virus, a rare variant from South America, where the cruise originated, capable of spreading through close contact. The risk to the wider public is considered low.