AMSTERDAM - A luxury cruise ship carrying mostly British, American, and Spanish passengers is stuck off the coast of Cape Verde after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus killed three people and left others ill.
Medics are working to evacuate two people showing symptoms of the virus. The Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment confirmed hantavirus in one of the patients. A Dutch woman who died also tested positive for the virus.
The three fatalities include a Dutch couple and a German national. A British passenger is being treated in South Africa. Around 150 people remain aboard the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius.
Hantavirus, which can cause fatal respiratory illness, is spread when particles from rodent droppings or urine become airborne. It does not easily transfer between humans.
The World Health Organization says the risk to the public is low, but Cape Verde has refused to let the ship dock as a precaution. There are no specific treatments for the virus, which has a fatality rate of about 40 percent.
The ship left Ushuaia, Argentina, in March on a luxury Antarctic expedition. Cabin prices ranged from $16,000 to $25,000.