Two passengers evacuated from a cruise ship linked to a confirmed outbreak of Hantavirus have arrived in the Netherlands for treatment, cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions has confirmed.
The operator said the two passengers are in serious condition, while a third passenger in stable condition remains on an evacuation flight delayed during the operation.
The affected vessel, the MV Hondius, is currently sailing towards the Canary Islands after remaining anchored for three days near Cape Verde.
The evacuated passengers are British, Dutch and German nationals.
Oceanwide Expeditions said the 65-year-old German passenger was closely associated with a German woman who died on board the ship on May 2.
Several media reports identified the British evacuee as 56-year-old former police officer Martin Anstee, who is said to be in stable condition in the Netherlands.
A 41-year-old Dutch crew member is also among those evacuated for treatment.
Dutch media also reported that a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight attendant was admitted to hospital in Amsterdam with symptoms linked to hantavirus exposure.
The flight attendant reportedly came into contact with a 69-year-old Dutch woman who had briefly boarded a KLM flight in South Africa before being deemed too ill to continue travelling.
The woman later died, and South African health authorities are investigating her death as a suspected hantavirus case.
So far, three people who travelled aboard the cruise ship have died since it departed from Argentina about a month ago.
Meanwhile, health officials in the US states of Georgia and Arizona said they are monitoring three passengers who earlier left the ship and returned to the United States.
Authorities said all three individuals are currently asymptomatic.
The World Health Organization also confirmed that a passenger who travelled back to Switzerland after leaving the ship tested positive for hantavirus and is receiving treatment at a hospital in Zurich.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the patient responded to an email sent by the cruise operator alerting passengers about the health situation on board.
