The patient zero of the hantavirus epidemic that affected a cruise ship has been identified. The 70-year-old man was an ornithologist, just like his wife, with whom he had traveled to several countries in South America. Both of them are deceased. They reportedly visited a landfill to observe a rare bird.
He was the first to show symptoms of the hantavirus. On April 11, Leo Schilperoord, a 70-year-old Dutchman, was aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship with his wife, Mirjam. She was also diagnosed with the same virus fifteen days later.
The couple, originally from Haulerwijk, a village of 3,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands, had arrived in Argentina on November 27 to begin a five-month journey in South America, visiting Chile and Uruguay before returning to Argentina.
Leo and Marjam Schilperoord were ornithologists and took advantage of the trip to observe birds. They had written articles in specialized Dutch journals.
During their second visit to Argentina, the couple allegedly visited a landfill near the city of Ushuaia to observe a specific bird species – the White-throated Caracara, only found in Chile and Argentina.
Following this visit, on April 1, the Dutch couple boarded the MV Hondius cruise ship in Ushuaia. Leo Schilperoord reported his first symptoms on April 6: fever, headaches, and mild diarrhea. He was diagnosed a few days later on April 11 aboard the ship.
On April 24, his body was transported to Saint Helena, UK, with Mirjam Schilperoord. The sixty-year-old flew to Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 25 after experiencing symptoms. She briefly boarded a flight to the Netherlands before being taken back due to her health condition. She was diagnosed the next day, and her hantavirus infection was confirmed on May 4.
Friends described the couple as “birds in full flight” in the local newspaper. After bidding farewell to her husband on April 11, now our dear friend Mirjam Schilperoord-Huisman has passed away on April 26. “You will be missed, along with your stories,” they shared.
[Context: The article reports on a couple of Dutch ornithologists who tragically died after contracting the hantavirus while on a cruise ship in South America. Fact Check: The information provided is based on the content within the tags and does not include any additional details or opinions.]
