Three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius. In total, five people are confirmed to have contracted the virus, with another three suspected cases, the World Health Organization said.
Hantavirus is usually spread by rodents but can in rare cases be transmitted person-to-person. All passengers who disembarked in St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where the ship made a stop on April 24, have been contacted, the ship's operator said. This included people from at least 12 countries, among them seven British citizens and six from the US.
The first confirmed case of hantavirus in this outbreak came in early May. The WHO repeated that the risk to the general public was low even if the Andean strain of the virus, found in several victims, can in rare cases be transmitted among humans.
