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Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
- The World Health Organisation reported a Hantavirus outbreak on an ocean ship travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde on Sunday.
- Three people have died and one sick patient is fighting for survival inside a Johannesburg intensive care unit.
A rare rat virus has hit Johannesburg after breaking out on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Three people are dead. One patient is fighting for their life in a Johannesburg intensive care unit.
The virus struck while the ship travelled from Argentina to Cape Verde.
A 69-year-old woman died in Johannesburg while travelling back to the Netherlands. Her husband died earlier when the ship reached St Helena.
Sky News reported that one patient was moved from an Ascension island hospital to a private hospital in Sandton.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported six Hantavirus cases on Sunday evening. Out of the six cases, the WHO says one is confirmed and five are suspected.
Medical teams are monitoring the crew and passengers. Two more sick people are waiting for medical evacuation.
“Of the six affected individuals, three have died, and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa,” the WHO said.
The WHO is running detailed investigations and laboratory tests.
People catch the virus from rat and mouse droppings or bodily fluids. Early signs hit like the flu. Sick people get a fever, headache, muscle aches, nausea and tiredness.
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the virus causes severe diseases that attack the lungs or kidneys.
“Hantaviruses can infect and cause serious disease in people worldwide,” the CDC said.
The medical journal The Lancet reported that humans usually catch the virus from infected rodents.
Pictured above: A hospital.
Image source: File
