Hantavirus Cruise Ship Captain Announces First Death to Passengers, on Video
Hantavirus-Infected Cruise Video Shows Ship Captain Dropping News of 1st Death
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The deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius is causing serious panic worldwide ... and now video has emerged showing the ship captain announcing the first death onboard.
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Travel content creator Ruhi Çenet had been on the ship before debarking after the first death, on April 11 ... he later hopped on IG to share video of the captain addressing passengers in a communal area, revealing one guest had died the night before.
The captain also said the ship doctor believed the illness wasn’t infectious ... but just one day later, the dead passenger’s wife also died -- and Ruhi says things only got worse after he left, with the ship's only doctor fighting for his life. So far, there are three reported deaths.
He said the ship continued sailing for another 11 days toward its destination, Cape Verde -- off the coast of West Africa -- with passengers now stuck in a quarantine nightmare onboard. At least 3 people are dead and one person was in intensive care this week.
According to Ruhi, officials seriously dropped the ball, because passengers were still eating together, hanging out together, and doing group activities.
The World Health Organization says dozens of passengers, including Americans, got off the ship after the first death ... and now officials are scrambling to contact-trace anyone who may’ve been exposed.
According to the WHO, hantavirus usually spreads through contaminated rodent droppings -- though in rare cases, it can spread person-to-person. The WHO confirmed Wednesday the outbreak onboard the Hondius involves the Andes virus strain -- the only known hantavirus capable of spreading from person to person through close and prolonged contact involving bodily fluids.
