A cruise ship left Cape Verde with tourists chasing adventure. Now three of them are dead. And the World Health Organization says more bodies could follow. 😰
The ship? Hondius. Dutch flag. Headed to Tenerife. But somewhere in the Atlantic, things went wrong. Very wrong. 💔
Passengers started getting sick. Not cough and cold sick. Severe respiratory sick. Can’t breathe sick.
First victim: a man. Got ill April 6. Dead April 11. No tests. No alarms. Just a body.
Then his wife got sick. She died April 25.
Then another woman. Died April 31.
Three people. Same ship. Same nightmare.
Now WHO confirms five people have hantavirus. Three more are being tested. And they are not ruling out more. Why? Because this virus can sleep inside someone for six weeks before showing its face. 😷
The strain is called Andes virus. Lives in rats. But here is the scary part — it can pass from person to person. Not easily. But close contact? Families sleeping in the same cabin? Health workers treating the sick? Yes. It can move. 🐀
Before boarding, the first two victims went bird-watching in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay. Beautiful places. But also places where infected rats live.
Now Argentina is rushing 2,500 test kits to five countries. Twelve nations had citizens on that ship. Britain. Canada. US. Singapore. Sweden. And more.
Cruise ships and viruses don’t mix well. The world remembers. And right now, everyone is watching the Atlantic. 👀
