It’s the nightmare scenario – and one that all cruise ship companies and their passengers dread and hope will never happen.
But, on occasions, it does and the results can be devastating, as those on board MV Hondius, stranded in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of the Cape Verde islands, are discovering.
Three passengers have died and two crew members are seriously ill following a suspected outbreak of hantavirus, which, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, kills some 40 per cent of those who contract it.
Hantaviruses are spread by rodents, through contact with their urine, droppings and saliva, with symptoms
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