San Francisco Frontiers - Hantavirus ship passenger: 'They didn't take it seriously enough'

The Turkish travel vlogger had boarded the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 to do a story about one of its stops, Tristan da Cunha, the remote archipelago in the South Atlantic.

It started out as an idyllic trip, with 59 crew attending to the 88 passengers -- most of them amateur birdwatchers aged 60 and up, Cenet, who is 35, told AFP in an interview.

But things turned strange the morning of April 12, when the ship's captain announced into a microphone that a passenger had died.

The 70-year-old Dutch man passed away the day before, the captain can be seen telling passengers in a video Cenet shot.

"I am told by the doctor that we are not infectious," the captain says in the footage -- little realising the ship's British doctor would himself be in serious condition weeks later.

"He said it was due to natural causes," Cenet recalled in an interview by video link.

"They didn't even consider the possibility of having such a contagious disease," he added.

"They didn't take the problem seriously enough."

- 'Worst-case scenario' -

Three of the ship's passengers have now died, including the first victim's wife and a German woman.

The World Health Organization says at least five others from the ship have definitely or probably been infected with hantavirus, a rare, potentially deadly respiratory disease.

Cenet said he was startled to see that "everyday life continued" on the ship after the captain's announcement.

His videos show elderly passengers mingling around the buffet table.

"We again kept eating all together... and we didn't wear any masks," he said.

To be safe, he and his cameraman decided to self-isolate, he told AFP.

"We didn't know there was a virus, but we just took precautions," he said.

A few days later, the ship anchored off Tristan da Cunha for the day.

Cenet remains haunted by that stop, fearing a "worst-case scenario", he said.

"I wish we did not land there after the first casualty, because along with us, there were a hundred more passengers, and they were interacting with the islanders," he said.

"This is one of my regrets, because the island is the most remote one, and they don't have enough medical centres, enough doctors."

- $10,000 trip -

Cenet disembarked from the ship on the British overseas territory of Saint Helena on April 24, along with about 20 other passengers.

The next day, he boarded a flight to South Africa.

It was the same one carrying the wife of the first victim.

She died the next day.

"She was in a wheelchair... Her head was down. Apparently the illness started getting to her," Cenet said.

He remembered how after her husband's death, many passengers on the ship had gathered around her to console her.

From South Africa, Cenet and his cameraman returned to Istanbul.

"When we got to Turkey, we were told that as long as we don't show any symptoms, at this point we don't have to be quarantined," he said.

"We are trying to isolate ourselves as much as we can."

The Hondius, which has been in quarantine off Cape Verde, left its anchorage there on Wednesday for Spain's Canary Islands.

An acquaintance still on board told Cenet the passengers were now isolated in their cabins and wearing masks.

But "I think these kind of ships should have some sort of a lab or necessary equipment" in case of outbreaks, said Cenet, adding that passengers had paid around $10,000 each for the cruise.

"I think these kind of amenities are needed," he said.

"One doctor wasn't enough."

E.Cruz--SFF