From NPR.

Three people have died and at least three more have become seriously ill in a suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Cape Verde. One patient, a passenger, was evacuated from the ship last week and is being treated in an ICU in South Africa, while the World Health Organization says it’s working to evacuate two critically ill crew members who are still on board.

Around 150 people are still stuck on the vessel. No one is being allowed to disembark, and Cape Verde’s Health Ministry has not allowed the ship to dock due to public health concerns.

It’s unclear how the outbreak started, but the WHO’s director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness, Maria Van Kerkhove, says people normally get infected with hantavirus through contact with infected rodents — and human-to-human transmission is rare.

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