Hantavirus now in 6 countries; officials present new origin theory

[0:00] Health officials around the world are racing to contain a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus that's linked to this cruise ship in the Atlantic. [0:07] The Dutch airline KLM says one of the ship's passengers, who later died after contracting the virus, [0:13] boarded a flight in South Africa before the plane's crew decided she was too sick to travel. [0:19] The Georgia Department of Public Health says two people who returned home to the state after getting off the ship are being monitored right now. [0:25] And one Arizona resident who was also on board is also being watched by officials there. [0:30] And according to the New York Times, California residents were on the ship as well. [0:35] CNN's Randy Kaye looks now at how this virus may have spread. [0:41] This was an expedition boat and many of the people on board were doing birdwatching. [0:45] Turns out a birdwatching tour may be the source of this Hantavirus outbreak. [0:49] According to the Associated Press, two Argentine officials investigating how this started said their government is leaning toward the island. [0:56] It was an idea that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while birdwatching in the city of Ushuaia, Argentina, before boarding the ship. [1:04] The AP reports the couple visited a landfill during the tour and may have been exposed to infected rodents. [1:11] That 70-year-old Dutch man was the first to die on the ship, days after they left port in Argentina. [1:17] His 69-year-old wife died about two weeks later. [1:20] The rest of the people on board, including nearly 150 passengers, are now on a three- to four-day journey from Cape Verde to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. [1:30] Spain has agreed to receive the ship there. [1:32] Upon arrival, the plan is for all passengers to be taken to a nearby airport and sent back to their home countries. [1:40] The 14 Spanish citizens will be examined and go directly into quarantine at a Madrid hospital. [1:45] This is the country of Cape Verde in front of us, but it is forbidden to go down to it. [1:52] This travel vlogger on board posted on social media about the predicament they now find themselves in. [2:00] Today was supposed to be the last day of our 35-day trip on the Atlantic, [2:04] but it is clear that our journey will not end here because Cape Verde refused to receive us on its coast. [2:08] Earlier today, this medical evacuation boat removed three sick people from the ship. [2:14] On their way to the Netherlands, a source from Spain's health ministry told CNN [2:18] that Morocco refused to let the plane carrying two of the evacuees land to refuel. [2:24] Instead, it made an unscheduled landing at Gran Canaria Airport to do so. [2:29] People are usually infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine, their droppings, or their saliva. [2:36] Human-to-human transmission is uncommon. [2:37] Yet in this case, the World Health Organization believes the virus may have been transmitted person-to-person on board. [2:44] And just today, following lab tests, confirmed this is the Andes strain of the virus, [2:50] which has spread among close contacts before. [2:53] We're also working with authorities for anyone that has left the ship. [2:57] In fact, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health has confirmed [3:00] that a passenger who traveled on the first leg of the voyage [3:03] and disembarked at St. Helena on April 24th, has now tested positive for Hantavirus. [3:09] That passenger, according to the cruise company, is being treated at a hospital in Zurich. [3:14] His wife, who was with him, has not shown symptoms but is self-isolating as a precaution. [3:20] Randy Kaye, CNN, New York. [3:22] And today, a German woman who may have been exposed to the virus on board that ship [3:28] was picked up by a convoy of emergency vehicles after being flown to Amsterdam. [3:33] Doctors say the woman is in stable condition but remains quarantined. [3:37] For more on what life is like for the 150 people still on board the infected ship, [3:41] I want to bring in CNN's Melissa Bell. [3:44] Wow. [3:44] I mean, personally, this would be my worst nightmare to be on this ship [3:47] knowing what's going on with this virus that can incubate for up to eight weeks. [3:52] Right, Melissa? [3:55] That's right. [3:55] With all the confusion and uncertainty that has gone on on the ship itself, [4:01] you know, we've now seen the video of the initial captain's announcement [4:04] that was made the day after that first patient, the Dutchman, died, [4:09] explaining that he died and that they believed that it was natural causes and so on. [4:14] And it was only later, much later, that it was understood that this virus had been at play. [4:18] The company that runs the ship has put out a statement explaining that it wasn't known at the time. [4:23] It took them some time to figure out that this was a virus and that everyone needed to quarantine. [4:28] And, of course, as we just heard, people then disembarked in St. Helena. [4:31] There was another disembarkation in Ascension Island. [4:34] Three more people disembarked at Cap Verde because by then we knew the virus was going around [4:40] and these were suspected or confirmed cases. [4:42] For those still on board, what we understand is happening, Pamela, [4:45] is that they're being quarantined in their own rooms. [4:48] They're staying inside their cabins. [4:50] Their food is being brought to them there. [4:52] And all the precautions are being taken so that there are no further infections [4:57] or transmissions of this anti-strain of Hantavirus. [5:01] Now, at least, they have a port in sight. [5:05] And this had been unclear for some time. [5:06] Really, until yesterday, we didn't know what port would accept taking in this ship [5:12] and dealing then with what will be a very complicated operation to get these 147 passengers off, [5:19] all the crew members off as well, to quarantine them and to successfully take them to where they need to go. [5:24] You showed a moment ago that convoy in Germany. [5:27] That is just one passenger suspected, confirmed, but still one passenger getting from the ship to Amsterdam [5:35] and onwards to a hospital that can treat them. [5:38] Imagine that multiplied by the number of people who are going to get off the ship. [5:42] We've just been hearing, however, from the World Health Organization, [5:44] and they say that beyond the five confirmed cases and the three people who sadly died, [5:49] there has been no further identified transmission on board. [5:53] So that is the good news. [5:54] But again, this is a strain of the virus that has an incubation period of eight weeks, [5:59] which substantially complicates things for anyone who's been in contact with either people who've left [6:06] or for those who are still on the ship or will be in contact with them when they get off, Pamela. [6:10] Off the coast of West Africa, a cruise ship under quarantine. [6:15] Three more passengers medically evacuated, all tied to a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus, [6:20] a rare, typically rodent-borne disease with no specific treatment or cure. [6:26] The open decks of the MV Hondias deserted, dining rooms empty, [6:32] passengers told to stay in their cabins. [6:35] Hi, I'm Jake, and I'm spending the next 35 days crossing the Atlantic, [6:39] visiting some of the most remote islands in the world. [6:41] This is how the journey began for Jake Rosemarine, [6:44] a Boston photographer, one of around 150 people on board. [6:48] People with families, with logs, with people waiting for us at home. [6:54] Health officials are now retracing the ship's route, [6:57] trying to figure out where and when passengers became infected. [7:02] Their 35-day expedition began from the edge of Antarctica, [7:06] visiting some of the most remote islands in the South Atlantic. [7:10] On those islands, there are birds. [7:12] Some islands have a lot of rodents, others don't. [7:15] Hantavirus is usually picked up by breathing in particles from rodent droppings or urine. [7:21] Symptoms often start like the flu, but can quickly cause severe breathing problems, [7:26] organ failure, and death. [7:28] The incubation period, one to eight weeks. [7:32] Lab tests have yet to confirm it, but investigators think [7:35] this may be a rare South American strain [7:37] that sometimes spreads not just from rodents, but between people. [7:42] Among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who've shared cabins, etc. [7:47] This small boat medically evacuated a handful of infected passengers. [7:51] Investigators say the outbreak began in early April. [7:54] The first victim, a Dutch passenger, died on board April 11th. [7:58] His wife died around two weeks later in a hospital in South Africa. [8:01] A third passenger, a German national, died on board on May 2nd. [8:05] A British passenger remains in intensive care. [8:07] Everyone else, stuck on board, undergoing medical checks. [8:11] A situation Kent and Rebecca Frazier know all too well. [8:15] We don't know how long you have to stay on the hostel. [8:17] I met them back in 2020. [8:19] They were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. [8:23] What's the hardest part? [8:24] I'd say the unknown. [8:26] Rebecca, one of the first Americans to test positive for COVID. [8:30] There she is. She's standing in the window right now. [8:32] Rebecca, here we are. Hi. [8:34] She spent weeks in a Tokyo hospital. [8:37] Kent was quarantined in their cabin. [8:40] What would be your advice for passengers stuck on this ship right now? [8:43] If you start thinking about what's happening around you, [8:46] it is so difficult to stay away from a mindset where you're getting depressed [8:53] and just, like, really fearful what's going to happen. [8:57] You have to try to stay as upbeat as you can. [8:59] They know how difficult staying upbeat can be. [9:02] For everyone on the MV Hondias facing fear and uncertainty on a floating quarantine zone.