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Two cases of the virus, which rarely spreads between humans, have been confirmed on the ship, and three people have died.
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The virus is usually spread from rodents, but the WHO said in this instance it could have been spread among "really close contacts" aboard the MV Hondius vessel, before stressing that such transmission was rare and the risk to the public was low.
"Some people on the ship were couples, they were sharing rooms, so that's quite intimate contact," WHO official Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said.
The WHO suspects that the first person to fall ill could have contracted the virus before boarding the ship, she added.
Some 149 people from 23 countries remain on the ship under "strict precautionary measures", the cruise ship's operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, has said. It has been moored off the coast of Cape Verde since Monday, according to the WHO.
Seven cases of hantavirus - two confirmed and five suspected - have so far been identified by officials.
Two of the passengers who died were a Dutch married couple. The wife is confirmed to have had the virus.
One other passenger, a 69-year-old UK national who was evacuated to South Africa for medical treatment, is also confirmed to have the virus.
Hantavirus has not been confirmed in the Dutch woman's husband or the other deceased passenger - a German national who passed away on 2 May.
In a statement, the Dutch couple's family said: "The beautiful journey they experienced together was abruptly and permanently cut short."
"We are still unable to comprehend that we have lost them. We wish to bring them home and commemorate them in peace and privacy," it added.
Testing is taking place for other passengers and crew members who are displaying symptoms.
The MV Hondius ship set sail from Argentina to start its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean around a month ago. It is currently anchored near Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.
Investigators are working under the assumption that the Andes strain o
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