Passenger Plea from Cruise Ship with Hantavirus Cases: "We Want to Go Home"

A passenger on the cruise ship MV Hondius, where deaths and cases of hantavirus infection have been recorded, has made a dramatic plea for the repatriation of passengers.

Jake Rosmarin, an American travel blogger and passenger on the ship, posted a video on social media describing the situation. "We are not just a news story, we are people with families waiting for us," he said.

There are 149 people on board, mainly British, American and Spanish, as well as one Greek. Three people have died, and a 69-year-old Briton is in critical condition in a Johannesburg hospital.

Authorities are considering disembarking passengers on the Spanish islands of Las Palmas and Tenerife. Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that manages the cruise ship, has implemented restrictive measures, with passengers remaining in their cabins.

The World Health Organization is conducting research and laboratory tests on the virus.