The cruise ship on the centre of a rat virus outbreak that terrified the world will take to the seas again this month.
MV Hondius triggered a worldwide health scare last month when passengers began falling ailing with hantavirus.
The leading theory was that the deadly illness was brought on board by two passengers birdwatching in the town of Ushuaia, Argentina.
The liner has now been deep-cleaned and is carrying tourists again, with bird spotting considered one of the primary activities on the itinerary.
A complete of 13 confirmed hantavirus cases emerged from MV Hondius, leading to three deaths.
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A pair, each 69, fell ailing after they visited a landfill site for birdwatching during which will have been exposed to rodents carrying the infection.
The couple died alongside a German national, with a Brit taken to intensive care in South Africa.
Hantavirus is often only spread by exposure to rodent urine, feces or saliva, however the World Health Organisation believes that human-to-human transmission took place on MV Hondius.
The doomed liner dropped off all remaining passengers within the Canary Islands in mid May before docking in Rotterdam on May 18.
After a team of 13 biosecurity experts deep-cleaned the ship, the vessel was cleared on May 30 by Dutch health authority (GGD) officials to return to full operations.
Oceanwide Expeditions said that eight decks were treated and MV Hondius was declared rodent-free.
The vessel will now be setting sail for Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost permanently inhabited town in Norway, for its first tour because the hantavirus outbreak.
The North Spitsbergen Explorer cruise will take guests around Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago over 7 nights.
The main focus of the trip will probably be the icy wildlife, including spotting seabird colonies and viewing the bird cliffs of Alkefjellet.
There may also be opportunities to see glaciers, ice caps, seals, and polar bears.
The price of a spot ranges from £5,000 for a shared room to £14,000 for a Grand Suite.
The cruise’s crew is not going to feature anyone who had contact with individuals currently in quarantine.
All crew members who were present throughout the prior voyage of MV Hondius have disembarked the vessel and are currently in quarantine.
Oceanwide Expeditions also said that medical and epidemiological information confirms that the hantavirus was introduced before embarkation and didn’t originate from the vessel or from our onboard operational standards.
Their statement reads: ‘The completion of this deep clean and disinfection of the vessel eliminates the potential for future transmission of hantavirus, which has limited environmental stability in comparison with many other viruses.’
What’s hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a family of rodent-borne viruses, with each strain tied to a selected host species.
It’s spread when people come into contact with infected droppings, saliva, urine or nesting materials, but is extremely rare, and barely passed from individual to individual.
If caught, hantavirus can result in two predominant illnesses, considered one of which affects the lungs (Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome or HPS) and the opposite which affects the kidneys (Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome or HFRS).
The incubation period for this illness is mostly two to 4 weeks, in line with the federal government, but can range from as little as two days to so long as eight weeks.
What are the symptoms?
Early symptoms of hantavirus are just like the flu, and include headaches, dizziness, chills in addition to abdominal problems like diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea.
If it progresses into Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, patients can experience headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
Should you develop Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome, initial symptoms will include intense headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever or chills, nausea, and blurred vision.
If the disease progresses, later symptoms include low blood pressure, acute shock (lack of blood flow), internal bleeding, and acute kidney failure, in line with the CDC.
Hantavirus could be fatal, so it’s essential to keep watch over symptoms in case you consider you’ve been exposed. There may be currently no cure for the disease.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard MV Hondius before the outbreak, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on 24 April.
There have been 30 Brits on board, but a number got off early at St Helena.
The remaining 22 British nationals took a charter flight home and were told to isolate for as much as 45 days.
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