One French citizen has been in contact with a person who had fallen ill but was not showing symptoms, officials said.
Oceanwide Expeditions said it was now working to establish details of all passengers and crew who embarked and disembarked on various stops since Mar 20.
The Dutch couple who died, and who are believed to be the first hantavirus cases of this outbreak, boarded on Apr 1.
Dutch airline KLM said it had taken the Dutch woman off a plane in Johannesburg on Apr 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition. She died before she could reach the Netherlands.
According to broadcaster RTL, a KLM stewardess who had been in contact with her has been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam after showing possible hantavirus symptoms.
Crew and passengers who helped the Dutch woman who passed away are being called daily for health checks, Dutch authorities told public broadcaster NOS.
Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said on Thursday that two Singapore residents who were onboard the MV Hondius are currently being isolated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, where they are being tested for the virus.
“Their test results are pending. One has a runny nose but is otherwise well, and the other is asymptomatic. The risk to the general public in Singapore is currently low,” CDA said.
The men – a 67-year-old Singaporean and a 65-year-old Singapore permanent resident – had disembarked from the ship and were also on the same flight as a confirmed hantavirus case from St Helena to Johannesburg on Apr 25, said CDA, adding that the confirmed case did not travel to Singapore and has since died in South Africa.
EVACUATIONS, TESTS
Three patients were evacuated from the ship on Wednesday. Two have been admitted to a hospital in the Netherlands, while another was transferred to Germany for medical care.
Martin Anstee, an expedition guide, was one of the two evacuees in hospital in the Netherlands, according to Sky News, and told them he was “doing okay” but “there are still lots of tests to be done”.
The Düsseldorf University Clinic, treating the German evacuee, said she was not a confirmed case but rather a contact and was undergoing tests.
In Switzerland, a man who travelled on the cruise ship and was admitted to a hospital tested positive for the infection, officials said.
A Danish citizen who was aboard the Hondius has returned home and has been advised to self-isolate as a precaution, Danish health authorities said.
In Canada, officials said that two Canadians on the cruise returned home before the outbreak was identified and another Canadian was on the same flight as a symptomatic person. All three are currently asymptomatic.
