3 passengers killed on cruise in Atlantic Ocean; Ship stopped off the coast of Africa, passengers not allowed to disembark

A suspected case of hantavirus infection has been reported on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Three people have died and at least three people are sick. The World Health Organization (WHO) and South Africa's health department confirmed it on Sunday. The cruise ship, named MV Hondius, is currently docked in Praya, the capital of the African country of Cape Verde. At present, passengers are not allowed to disembark. This decision has been taken to control the risk of spread of the infection. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 6 people on the ship have been found to have symptoms like infection. One of those cases has already been confirmed in the lab. One patient is admitted to the ICU in a South African hospital, while preparations are being made to evacuate two from the ship. It is also not yet known whether all the sick people are infected with hantavirus. Investigations are underway to find out how and where the disease originated. The Dutch-flagged cruise ship sailed from Ushuaia, Argentina on March 20. It then moved to areas around the South Pole and then crossed the Atlantic towards Europe. He was to finally reach the Canary Islands in Spain, a major tourist destination in the Atlantic near Africa. A total of 170 passengers and 71 crew members are onboard the ship. A doctor is also involved in it. The first victim was a 70-year-old man who died on the ship. He was on this trip with his wife. His body was then unloaded in St. Helena in the South Atlantic. His wife later arrived in South Africa, from where he was to return to his home country of the Netherlands. But at the airport itself, his health suddenly deteriorated, he fell unconscious and later died in the hospital. Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that operates the cruise, said the body of the third victim was still on the ship in Cape Verde. How the infection spread, it is being investigated, the biggest question is where the infection came from. No cases of hantavirus have been reported in the area of Argentina from where the ship departed. The ship did not even go to areas where the virus is common. Experts believe that the infection could be inside the ship. According to the Centers for Disease Control, hantavirus is transmitted by a person's contact with rats or squirrels. This occurs mainly in mice. This does not cause any illness in rats, but it kills humans. Hantavirus was first detected in 1993. At that time, a couple died due to infection in the United States. Within a few months, 600 people died from the disease. Humans get infected by coming in contact with rat urine, faeces and saliva. This causes a disease called pulmonary syndrome. 3 ways Hantavirus spreads: If a rat carrying the virus bites a human, such cases are rare. Secondly, a person comes in contact with the excreta or saliva of a rat present in a place or object and touches his nose and mouth. Third: If a person eats something that contains rat feces or saliva. According to scientists, hantavirus is not transmitted through the air, but it is more dangerous than the corona virus. There is no specific cure for this disease, it is only treated on the basis of symptoms. Critical patients may need a ventilator to help them breathe. About 38% of patients die from this disease. If the patient is elderly or already weak, the risk increases further. Scientists have so far identified 5 strains of hantavirus, the most dangerous of which is the Araqua virus, which has a mortality rate of 54% when infected. Similarly, the second strain is the Cin Nombre virus in which the mortality rate is 40%. The third strain is Hantan virus. Its mortality rate is between 5-10%. If any of these three are infected, the risk of death may be much higher than that of corona. A vaccine has not yet been developed and there is no definitive cure. Such patients require special care and are given oxygen therapy. The sooner the case is caught, the better. If the disease becomes severe, the patient may die within about 7-10 days. Betsy Arakawa, the wife of American actor Gene Hackman, died of the disease last year. The two were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Feb. 26. Traces of rats were also found around his house. It was later learned that the 95-year-old Heckman died of a heart attack on February 18. Arakawa's body was found in the bathroom. Before his death, Arakawa was constantly searching the internet for information about flu-like symptoms, breathing patterns and illnesses like COVID. In the United States, only 890 cases have been reported from 1993 to 2023. Most of the cases were found in the state of New Mexico, where Gene Hackman and his wife lived.