Source of Hantavirus outbreak on ship was 'birdwatching trip to landfill site'
Officials investigating the hantavirus outbreak on board the MV Hondius have said the source could be linked to a couple's birdwatching trip to a landfill site prior to the vessel setting sail.Three people have tragically died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak spread on the cruise liner which set off from Argentina on April 1 to Cape Verde. The Hondius has reported a major outbreak of the rodent-spread disease. Among the dead include a Dutch couple, aged 70 and 69, while dozens more are reportedly ill or showing symptoms.Now two Argentine officials, who spoke anonymously to Associated Press, have said the source of the infection may be linked to a couple's birdwatching trip to a landfill site, reports The Mirror.The officials said their government's leading hypothesis is that a Dutch couple contracted the virus during a bird-watching trip in Ushuaia before boarding the vessel. The pair reportedly visited a landfill during the tour where they may have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media, with the investigation ongoing. Authorities previously said Ushuaia and surrounding Tierra del Fuego province had never recorded a hantavirus case.Meanwhile passengers on board infected cruiseliner MV Hondius are heading towards the Canary Islands - but the islands' President is refusing to allow the vessel to dock. Regional leader Fernando Clavijo has requested an urgent meeting with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez. He said: "I cannot allow it to enter the Canary Islands."
