May 8 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Friday that eight people had fallen ill, including three who died, in a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship, with six confirmed cases and two probable cases.
• Six of the cases have been confirmed as Andes virus, a type of hantavirus, through PCR testing, the WHO said.
• The ship had 147 passengers and crew on board when the outbreak was first reported on May 2, while 34 others had already left the vessel.
• Four patients remain hospitalized in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland, while a suspected case sent to Germany tested negative.
• Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reiterated on Friday that the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation with U.S. travelers on board the cruise ship.
• The CDC said it plans to evacuate American passengers aboard the ship on a U.S. government medical repatriation flight to Omaha, Nebraska.
• There are 17 U.S. citizens aboard the ship, according to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.
• The ship left Cabo Verde on May 6 and was heading to Spain’s Canary Islands, where passengers are expected to disembark.
• The WHO said the risk to the wider global population is low, but the risk to passengers and crew on the ship is moderate.
• The agency said the first case may have been infected before boarding, possibly during travel in Argentina and Chile, with later spread likely occurring on the ship.
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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