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Hantavirus-hit cruise ship on way to Canary Islands after three evacuated
Two people in a serious condition who were evacuated from a cruise ship with a confirmed outbreak of deadly hantavirus have arrived in the Netherlands for treatment, operator Oceanwide Expeditions has said.
A third passenger in a stable condition was on board an evacuation flight that has been delayed, the operator added.
The MV Hondius is now sailing towards Spain’s Canary Islands after being anchored for three days near Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the West African coast.
The three evacuees were British, Dutch and German. Oceanwide Expeditions said the 65-year-old German evacuee was “closely associated” with a German woman who died on board the ship on 2 May.
The British evacuee has been identified by several media outlets as 56-year-old ex-police officer Martin Anstee, who is understood to be in a “stable condition” in the Netherlands.
A 41-year-old Dutch crew member is also among those who have been evacuated.
Separately, Dutch media reported on Thursday that a KLM flight attendant had been admitted to hospital in Amsterdam with hantavirus symptoms.
The stewardess reportedly came into contact with a 69-year-old Dutch woman after she was briefly on board a KLM plane in South Africa but was deemed too ill to fly.
The 69-year-old later died, and her death is being investigated as a suspected hantavirus case by South African health authorities.
Three people who were aboard the ship have died since it set sail from Argentina a month ago.
Meanwhile, two US states have confirmed to the BBC that they are monitoring three passengers who had returned to the US after disembarking earlier. All are currently not displaying symptoms.
Georgia’s public health department said two residents were being monitored and were in good health, showing no signs of infection.
Arizona’s health department said one resident was being monitored, but was not symptomatic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also confirmed a man who had travelled back to Switzerland after disembarking the ship tested positive for hantavirus and is receiving care at a hospital in Zurich.
“The patient had responded to an email from the ship’s operator informing the passengers of the health event,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
A total of 146 people from 23 different countries remain aboard the MV Hondius under “strict precautionary measures”, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
In its latest update, the World Health Organization (WHO) said eight cases of hantavirus – three confirmed and five suspected – have so far been identified in people who were on the ship.
South African health authorities have said the Andes strain of hantavirus – prominent in Latin America, where the cruise originated – was found in two of the confirmed patients after tests were carried out by the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
Experts have observed the Andes strain spreading between human patients in previous outbreaks. South Africa says efforts to trace all contacts remain underway.
Officials have said that one of the deceased had the virus, while the other two deaths are under investigation.
The three deaths on board include the 69-year-old Dutch woman who left the MV Hondius when it stopped at the island of St Helena on 24 April. Her husband died on board on 11 April, but is not a confirmed case.
The Dutch woman travelled to South Africa, where she died on 26 April. WHO official Dr Maria Van Kerkhove told the BBC that health experts were carrying out contact tracing on the flight she took.
KLM Airlines on Wednesday issued an advisory saying the woman had also briefly been aboard one of their flights from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on 25 April before the crew decided not to let her fly due to her medical condition.
The third fatality – a German woman – is not a confirmed case either. Her body remains on the ship.
None of the three people who were medically evacuated on Wednesday have tested positive for hantavirus so far, but two are showing symptoms.
It comes as the UK’s Health Security Agency said two British people were self-isolating at home in the UK after potential exposure tothe virus on the ship. They left the vessel earlier in its journey and did not have symptoms.
On board, there were 19 passengers and four crew members listed as British, according to figures released by Oceanwide Expeditions on Tuesday.
This included Anstee, who was evacuated on Wednesday.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents, but health experts believe that in this case, it may have passed between humans who were in close contact.
Testing to confirm whether other people on the ship have contracted the virus is ongoing. Health officials have stressed that the risk of transmission to the wider public is low.
The vessel had been anchored near Cape Verde before it set off towards the Canary Islands on Wednesday.
Spanish authorities agreed to the move, but the Canary Islands’ president has opposed the plan.
“I cannot allow [the boat] to enter the Canaries,” Fernando Clavijo told Spain’s Onda Cero radio. “This decision is not based on any technical criteria and nor have we been given enough information.”
Spain’s Health Minister Mónica García said that everyone on board will undergo a medical assessment when they arrive in Tenerife and, if fit to travel, those from abroad will be repatriated to their home countries.
Spaniards will be sent to a defence hospital in Madrid to quarantine.
The evacuation would “avoid contact” with Canary Island citizens and there would be “no risk” to them when it arrives in Tenerife in the coming days, Garcia said.
Dr Van Kerkhove said the way hantavirus is transmitted “is very different than COVID and flu”.
“We’re not talking about casual contact from very far away from one another,” she said, but “really physical contact”.
[BBC]
We are more than a week into this tour, and it feels like it’s barely begun. The first ODI went off without too much of a hitch, but the next two were washed out without a ball bowled, Kingston rains crashing the party. Unfortunately, the threat of rain hangs over this opening T20I too – with thunderstorms threatening on Thursday afternoon, which could affect the viability of the Sabina Park outfield later in the day (8.30pm local time is the start).
Unlike with ODIs, this is a format in which one of these teams is the favourite. West Indies were one victory away from knocking India out of their own home World Cup, while Sri Lanka spent much of the Super Eight in the recent global tournament fighting merely to prove they belonged. In India, West Indies showed their six-hitting strategy could still make waves. On top of which they have a much more successful franchise T20 product in the CPL than Sri Lanka has had with the LPL. Over many seasons, these sorts of advantages add up.
While West Indies clearly have the batting pedigree heading into this series, Sri Lanka will hope that their bowlers can make the contest more even. Wanidu Hasaranga has wreaked T20 havoc before in the Caribbean. In Dushmantha Chameera, they have a bowler who has shown he is in good rhythm on tour.
West Indies have excellent T20 bowlers too, Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein especially. But the kind of firepower they possess in the batting order Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder and the like – Sri Lanka have rarely ever had, even at their T20 pinnacle.
Shimron Hetmyer had a pretty abysmal IPL with Rajasthan Royals, hitting only 78 for them from his seven innings. This is strange, because in the T20 World Cup preceding the IPL, he had crashed 248 runs at a strike rate of 186, and was legitimately the batting star in the West Indies line-up as they threatened to make a deep run in the tournament. He had not been selected in the only ODI West Indies played against Sri Lanka, but coach Darren Sammy and Co. would be hoping he rediscovers some of his World Cup form in this series.
Wanindu Hasaranga remains one of Sri Lanka’s most prized white ball assets. But over the years, as the franchise contracts have piled up, so have the kilograms, and as a consequence, the injuries. He’s one of the few top spinners in the world, for example, who has recurring hamstring complaints. His bowling record in the West Indies is genuinely spectacular, though, but perhaps it’s getting to the stage of his career when he is required to produce the kinds of performances that remind fans – and selectors – what makes him a special white ball cricketer.
West Indies may revert to their preferred World Cup XI to get some momentum into this tour.
West Indies (possible): Shai Hope (capt, wk), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Akeal Hosein Shamar Joseph
Sri Lanka may continue to trial Kamindu Mendis at the top of the order. Fast bowler Eshan Malinga is likely to get into the XI after a good IPL. Dasun Shanaka will probably reclaim a spot in the lower-middle order as well. The state of the surface may also determine whether they play a spin-bowling allrounder (likely Dunith Wellalage) or a seam-bowling allrounder (Milan Rathnayake).
Sri Lanka (possible): Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage/Milan Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara
Hosts England will take on Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. The match is set to begin at 6.30pm local time (5.30pm GMT).
England hold an advantage in this contest, having won 10 out of the 12 T20Is between the sides. Sri Lanka though will draw confidence from recent history, having won the last two T20Is against England in 2023. This will be just the fourth time these two sides meet in the T20 World Cup.
England arrive at the tournament having won four out of the six matches since the start of the year, while Sri Lanka come in with momentum on their side, riding on five consecutive T20I wins that include series wins against West Indies and Bangladesh.
England (probable): Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Sri Lanka (probable): Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika de Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Malki Madara, Sugandika Kumari, Kawya Kavindi/Chetana Vimukthi
Lauren Bell has been in spectacular form all year, starting with the WPL where she finished with 12 wickets in nine games and was often a handful with the new ball. After picking three wickets in two games against New Zealand, she bagged seven wickets in three matches in the T20I series win against India. She’s bowled at an economy of 7.4 this year, and the home conditions are likely to suit her perfectly.
All eyes will once again be on Chamari Athapaththu for Sri Lanka. In what will be her 10th T20 World Cup the 36-year old will be expected to do the heavy lifting for her side. She heads into the tournament in excellent touch, highlighted by a blistering 94 off 58 balls in the warm up against Pakistan. Her contributions with the ball could prove just as important – she picked up four wickets in three matches in the series against Bangladesh in May.
Weather and conditions
The forecast points to clear skies in Birmingham on Friday evening. There was however some rain in the area on the eve of the match.
[Cricinfo]
President Donald Trump says that the US will strike Iran “very hard tonight” in a new post on Truth Social.
Here’s what the president says:
“The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize Kharg Island, a small island off the coast of Iran that is home to a major oil terminal.
[BBC]
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