Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on the WHO tracing the hantavirus outbreak on the Atlantic cruise

Weeks of uncertainty, over an outbreak of deadly hantavirus on a Dutch cruise ship travelling the Atlantic.

Three people have died, with other cases confirmed and suspected.

The 150 passengers are isolating in cabins, including one New Zealander. 

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says investigations are taking place into the outbreak, as it's unknown where it came from.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray UK correspondence with us Elogevin.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Iiver heard right.

Speaker 1 (00:04):
So what do you make of the First Minister of
Wales criticizing Kiyostama as possibly costing them the election?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, very interesting. Next set of thirty six hours ahead
for the British government, for the British people. So people
are going to the polls for local council elections in
England and that's five thousand council seats up for grabs
when the polls open just under twenty four hours time.
Local elections taking place for one hundred and thirty six
local authorities. But it is the elections in Scotland and

(00:34):
in Wales that are going to be most interesting because
Labour has a lot to lose this government, Sekre Starmer
has a lot to lose because they're being squeezed. They're
being squeezed in England really mostly by Reform on the
right and the Green Party which has been absolutely resurgent
on the left. But in Scotland it looks like the SMB,

(00:57):
the Scottish National Party, which had really been facing some
grim predictions for its future, may suddenly be given a
spark of life because Labour's predictions are so bad in Wales, well,
they're really reform might be quite resurgent, but also they've
got their own applied CUMRU which wants to see a
separate whales and much more power dissolved to whales. So

(01:20):
it could be a really really interesting battle this and
all sorts of people already lining up. We are being
told to replace Sakir Starmer when and if those disastrous
results come in for him, Angela Rayner, who used to
be his deputy, Went streeting the current Health Secretary Andy Burnham,
the mayor of Manchester. He would need to somehow become

(01:40):
an MP first in order to take over from Sekir Starmer.
But they are plotting and looking at those three. It
could be a big lurch to the left, which is
spooking the markets.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Oh interesting, Ok. You know what is the latest with
this cruise ship in the virus on board?

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well, I'm afraid to say for those on board it
isn't going to be terribly pleasant for a few more
days yet, but there is hope in sight. The ship
is currently just off Cape Verde or Cape Verd, some
islands to the west of North Africa. However, they are
not being allowed to dock there. The hospital on the
main island is quite small. It simply couldn't cope with

(02:19):
the one hundred and forty nine people from twenty three
countries who remain on board, twenty two of whom incidentally
are British. Instead, it looks like the Spanish are going
to allow them to dock on the Canary Islands. Now
that's further south. It's a journey of three or four
days by this luxury cruise line a vessel, but that

(02:40):
is going to be three or four more very uncomfortable days.
What they're trying to do is isolate, of course, the
passengers who are symptomatic, who look like they may have
the virus. I isolate those who definitely do have it
and maybe medically evacuate those first. But then to keep
the others safe. Now that's difficult, of course on a
cruise ship. And the investigation still with the Worbhealth organization

(03:06):
is still ongoing as to where this virus came from.
Was it rodents on board the operator to say absolutely not,
and was it potentially something that was picked up by
passengers before they embarked in South America. And that's the
big question along with does it actually transmit from human
to human.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Interesting. Hey, thank you very much, Gevin, as always appreciate
your time. Mate. This's Devin Gray, are UK correspondent.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio