The cruise ship that has been at the center of an outbreak of the deadly hantavirus has arrived at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for disinfection, with its remaining crew members facing a lengthy stay in quarantine.

Three passengers on the MV Hondius, a 170-berth polar cruising vessel operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, died after the outbreak of the virus, a Dutch couple and a German woman, with two of them confirmed to have had the virus.

Hantavirus is linked to rodent feces and is endemic in Argentina, where the ship began its most recent voyage on April 1. Currently, there is no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus.

The ship's final destination was supposed to have been Cape Verde, but following the outbreak, it was diverted to the Canary Islands, off the west coast of Africa. It has ended up going to the Netherlands because it is Dutch-flagged.

Its owners have said that following the disinfection, which will be carried out to the standards of Dutch public health guidelines, it does not anticipate any change to the ship's existing schedule, with its next voyage being an Arctic cruise starting in Keflavik, Iceland, on May 29.

Around 150 passengers and crew from 23 countries were on board the MV Hondius when the first cluster of severe respiratory illnesses was reported to the World Health Organization, or WHO, on May 2.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has played down fears of wider infection, insisting: "There is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak."

The WHO has said the outbreak is considered low risk and added: "While additional cases may still occur among passengers and crew members exposed before containment measures were implemented, the risk of onward transmission is expected to be reduced following disembarkation and the implementation of control measures."

It is reported that 25 crew members and two medical staff were left on board when the ship arrived in the Netherlands. Given the incubation period of the virus, however, caution is still advised over possible future cases among people who were on the ship and have since left.

The outbreak is the first such event on a cruise ship and research by the Pasteur Institute in France said samples taken from a French passenger had found the virus matched strains found in South America, which is the only version that can spread between people.

There was, however, no indication that this was any new or more transmissible version of the virus.

Julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com