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A deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship in the South Atlantic has triggered an international health response after around 40 passengers disembarked on the remote island of St. Helena following the death of the first passenger, Dutch officials said on Thursday.

The outbreak has already claimed three lives, while several other passengers have fallen ill, prompting authorities in multiple countries to trace potential contacts linked to the ship.

Passengers Left Ship At St. Helena

According to the Dutch foreign ministry, dozens of passengers left the cruise ship during a stop at St. Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Among them was the wife of a Dutch passenger who died during the outbreak. The Dutch cruise company operating the vessel had earlier confirmed that the woman disembarked with her husband’s body before flying to South Africa on a commercial flight. She later collapsed at an airport in Johannesburg and died.

The cruise company, however, had not previously acknowledged that other passengers had also left the ship at St. Helena.

International Contact Tracing Begins

Health authorities in South Africa and Europe are now attempting to trace people who may have come into contact with passengers who disembarked from the vessel.

The concern intensified after it emerged on Wednesday that a man in Switzerland tested positive for hantavirus after also leaving the ship at St. Helena and flying home. Officials have not clarified his exact movements.

Dutch authorities have not confirmed where the remaining passengers who left the ship are currently located.

Emergency Evacuations During Voyage

The outbreak led to multiple medical evacuations during the voyage.

According to the cruise company, A British man was evacuated from the ship to South Africa from Ascension Island.

Three people, including the ship’s doctor, were evacuated while the vessel was near Cape Verde and taken to Europe for treatment on Wednesday.

Several passengers remain ill as investigations continue.

Rare Virus Raises Concern

The hantavirus involved in the outbreak is considered dangerous to humans. The bank vole, also known as the forest vole, can transmit certain forms of the virus.

The outbreak has raised wider concerns because authorities previously confirmed that the strain linked to the cruise ship was a rare type capable of spreading from human to human.