分类： health

An outbreak of severe acute respiratory illness has shaken a polar cruise ship traveling through the Atlantic Ocean, leaving at least two people confirmed dead and one patient in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa’s health ministry confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Sunday.

The incident unfolded aboard the MV Hondius, a polar exploration vessel operated by Dutch tour firm Oceanwide Expeditions, which was carrying out a voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina, bound for Cape Verde. The ship, which holds capacity for roughly 170 passengers and 70 crew members, was positioned just off Praia, Cape Verde’s capital, as of Sunday, according to multiple online vessel tracking platforms.

South African health department spokesperson Foster Mohale confirmed that one patient evacuated to Johannesburg for treatment has tested positive for hantavirus, a group of pathogens most commonly spread to humans via rodent populations. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected rodents’ urine, fecal matter or saliva, through bites, or via inhalation of dust contaminated with viral particles, guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes. Different strains of hantavirus circulate across different global regions, and they can trigger a range of severe symptoms including life-threatening hemorrhagic fever.

According to Mohale, the first fatality was a 70-year-old passenger who first developed symptoms and died while the vessel was still at sea. His remains are currently held on Saint Helena, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic that was one of the ship’s scheduled stops. The passenger’s 69-year-old spouse was also infected and evacuated to South Africa for urgent care, and she later died in a Johannesburg hospital. Mohale added that official confirmation of the victims’ nationalities was still pending as of Sunday, though an anonymous source close to the investigation told AFP the two deceased are a Dutch couple, bringing the provisional death toll to three.

A third infected passenger, a 69-year-old British national, was also evacuated to Johannesburg and remains in intensive care as public health teams continue to monitor his condition. Discussions are ongoing between international health authorities about whether two additional sick passengers should be admitted to hospitals in Cape Verde for isolation, the anonymous source said. After the ship completes its stop in Cape Verde, it is scheduled to continue its voyage to the Spanish Canary Islands.

The World Health Organization confirmed Sunday that it is aware of the outbreak, and that a coordinated international public health investigation and response is already underway. “We will share more information as it becomes available,” the organization said from its Geneva headquarters. AFP reached out to Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s operator, for comment on the outbreak as of Sunday, but had not received a response by the time of reporting.

BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth – Nearly seven months after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa devastated key public infrastructure across Jamaica, the large-scale recovery effort at Black River Hospital is moving ahead at a faster-than-expected pace, with construction teams focused on delivering a more storm-resilient facility to reverse widespread disruptions to regional healthcare services.

During an on-site inspection tour Thursday alongside senior leadership from the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton shared updated details on the rebuild, confirming that core medical services are on track to be restored within the next two months. While a long-term national ecological study is being conducted to assess the flood and storm vulnerability of all public health facilities across the country – a process that could lead to additional major structural upgrades in a final resilience phase – the government’s immediate priority remains restarting full service delivery as quickly as possible.

“Right now our biggest challenge is getting the entire system back up and running so we can meet the healthcare needs of the community, and so far, the progress has exceeded expectations. The project team has done exceptional work moving this forward,” Tufton told reporters during the tour.

Construction crews are currently working to wrap up upgrades to key facilities on schedule. The hospital’s male and female inpatient wards, rebuilt with reinforced structural materials to withstand future extreme weather events, are expected to open to patients by the end of June. Two operating theatres, which also received full overhauls, are on track to be commissioned and put into service in just two weeks.

Tufton explained that the rebuilt facility incorporates far more robust engineering than the original structure. “Construction is well advanced: we are preparing to install reinforced metal roofing and a reinforced concrete slab designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and flooding, so this will be a much stronger, safer facility for both patients and staff,” he said. “Inside the two operating theatres, surgical lighting is already being installed and final finishing work is underway. That means we will once again be able to perform routine and emergency surgeries right here at Black River Hospital, in a fully updated facility.”

Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025, leaving a trail of destruction across the island. Black River Hospital was one of the hardest-hit major government facilities, forcing the facility to suspend most core services and divert patients to nearby hospitals for months.

In addition to the main hospital reconstruction, the project team has already completed renovations to on-site staff quarters. Tufton noted that part of the newly restored staff housing will be repurposed temporarily to expand outpatient services, while the remaining space will be used for staff accommodation. When the full hospital rebuild is complete in 6 to 8 weeks, the facility will have nearly 150 inpatient beds available, a capacity upgrade that will significantly ease the overcrowding and patient backlogs that have plagued neighboring facilities since the storm.

“This restoration will take huge pressure off Mandeville Regional Hospital, Percy Junor Hospital in Manchester, and Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland, all of which have absorbed thousands of extra patients from St Elizabeth since Hurricane Melissa hit,” Tufton explained.

The recovery effort extends beyond the main hospital to community care across the parish. Of the 23 public health centers serving St Elizabeth, 10 suffered severe damage during the storm. Only the Black River Health Centre remains out of its original building, but Tufton confirmed reconstruction is on schedule to wrap up in one month, allowing services to move back to the permanent facility. Currently, the health center is operating out of a temporary container-based facility on the original compound, and the operation has been running smoothly.

Tufton projected that all 23 health centers across the parish will be fully operational by the end of May or early June. Currently, around 80 percent of primary care patients have returned to their local community health centers, but the ministry is launching an outreach effort to encourage more residents to resume routine care, after many avoided seeking services in the wake of the storm.

“We understand the trauma that the people of this parish have been through, but we cannot let that lead to people neglecting their ongoing health needs,” Tufton said. “We don’t want people putting off chronic disease management, life-saving screenings, or access to their prescription medications. That’s why I’ve challenged the local health team to conduct targeted community outreach, to encourage mothers, children, and elderly residents to return to their local health centers for the care they need.”

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — In the wake of catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Melissa last October, the already strained healthcare system in Jamaica’s Westmoreland parish has received a transformative lifeline. The Issa Trust Foundation, the charitable wing of Caribbean hospitality brand Couples Resorts, has formally handed over $17 million in life-saving medical equipment and supplies to Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, reinforcing a decades-long collaborative partnership between the institution and the non-profit.

The official handover, held during a public ceremony at the hospital on Tuesday, comes as the facility continues to rebuild its care capacity after the category 5 storm devastated local infrastructure. Foundation chairman Paul Issa told attendees that while the organization’s recent focus has been centered on completing the $2.4 million Mary Issa Paediatric and Adolescent Health Centre in St Ann, the urgent, unmet needs of Westmoreland’s post-hurricane recovery could not be ignored. Setting aside his prepared remarks to speak off-the-cuff, Issa stressed that the large-scale donation was not a solo effort, but the result of coordinated action across a global network of mission-aligned partners.

“Maybe each one of us individually couldn’t have done that by ourselves. As always, it’s a group effort and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to help,” Issa said.

The donation includes a full suite of critical care and diagnostic tools that the hospital lacked after the storm: among the inventory are Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines, life-support ventilators, patient monitoring systems, ECG units, pulse oximeters, vital sign monitors, defibrillators, and multiple suction devices. Multiple cross-sector and international partners contributed to making the donation possible: Partners in World Health provided core program support, Build Health International coordinated logistics for the cross-ocean shipment, Airlink covered all cost of air transport for the equipment, and Jamaica’s Ministry of Health partnered through the National Healthcare Enhancement Foundation (NHEF) Ltd. to facilitate local delivery.

Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, classified as a Type B care facility, is the primary healthcare provider for all of Westmoreland parish, including the high-volume tourist destination of Negril. The facility regularly treats a high volume of trauma cases, particularly those stemming from motorcycle accidents across the region. Dr. Suman Vemu, the hospital’s Senior Medical Officer, noted that the new equipment fills critical gaps in the facility’s ability to deliver timely, life-saving care. He recalled that a 2018 donation of a C-arm imaging machine from the foundation was a transformative upgrade for the hospital, allowing the care team to treat complex orthopaedic poly-trauma cases on-site rather than transferring patients to distant facilities.

Deveta McLaren, Acting Regional Director for the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), added that the facility is currently mid-way through a full renovation of its Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, with completion scheduled for mid-June. Once the renovation wraps up, all the newly donated equipment will be installed and fully operational to serve patients.

WRHA Board Chairman Eric Clarke highlighted the unique community impact of the foundation’s work, noting that most of the funding for the donation comes from vacationing guests who choose to give back to the Jamaican communities they visit. “It is a totally amazing programme where people pay for their vacation to Jamaica and actually give something back, other than at the restaurants,” Clarke explained. “To the guests that come to Jamaica not only enjoy your hotel, but you give back directly to the health care in the community… I think that’s absolutely amazing.”

Roan Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, expressed profound gratitude for the donation, noting that in the months following the hurricane, clinical staff have been forced to work with severely outdated and insufficient equipment. “We deeply and gratefully, with a generous heart, accept these donations of medical supplies and equipment, which come at a most critical time and timely moment for our institution. Your support significantly strengthens our capacity to deliver quality healthcare and enhance our ability to serve our patients with greater efficiency and compassion,” Grant said. “This contribution is not only a gift of resources but also a meaningful investment in the well-being of the community we serve.”

With Couples Resorts operating two popular properties in Negril, Issa reaffirmed the foundation’s long-term commitment to supporting the hospital, which serves as the core healthcare provider for local residents and visitors to the region. “We want to continue in our little way to help — and we plan to,” he assured attendees.