一艘从南极开来的邮轮，把汉坦病毒带到了世界各地

It's the story of a ship.

This ship is called "MV Hondius," a Dutch cruise ship.

A cruise ship is a very big ship that lets people enjoy themselves and see scenery.

The story begins like this.

On April 1 this year, MV Hondius set off from Argentina.

The departure port is called Ushuaia, one of the southernmost cities in the world.

There were 147 people in total on the ship — tourists and crew, from 23 countries.

Their destination was Antarctica.

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth, with ice and penguins.

Going to Antarctica is a lifelong dream for many people.

So this ship was supposed to be a beautiful journey.

But things quickly went wrong.

On April 6, a passenger on the ship started feeling unwell.

He coughed, had a fever, and had some trouble breathing.

The doctor examined him, but couldn't tell what disease it was.

On April 11, this passenger died.

At first, everyone thought it was an ordinary illness.

But later, his wife also started feeling unwell.

On April 26, his wife died on a plane.

She had just disembarked and was flying back to the Netherlands.

The plane had been in the air only 45 minutes when she died.

This made everyone start to get nervous.

Then another person died, bringing the total to three.

The doctors immediately took samples and sent them to a major hospital for testing.

Finally, the doctors told everyone: this is a virus.

Its name is "hantavirus."

What is hantavirus?

You may not have heard of this name.

Actually, this virus has been around in the world for a long time.

It usually lives in rodents.

It's not that the rodent bites you and infects you — rather, the virus is in their droppings, urine, and saliva.

If a person accidentally inhales tiny droplets in the air, they get sick.

So you usually find it in mountain areas, farms, or grain storehouses.

Generally it doesn't pass from person to person.

That is to say, if you catch this disease, the people around you won't catch it from you.

So you don't need to be too afraid.

But this time on MV Hondius, it's different.

Doctors discovered: the virus on this ship is a special "Andes type."

The Andes are a tall mountain range in South America.

This kind of hantavirus is the only hantavirus in the world that "spreads person to person."

That is to say, if one person catches it, the people around them might catch it too.

This is why this incident is so tense.

So how did the virus get on board?

The doctors' current view is: one person was already infected before boarding.

He himself didn't feel it, and only started getting sick once they were at sea.

So no one could have detected it in advance.

Just think about how unlucky this is.

One person, who didn't know they were sick, set off to sea with over a hundred others.

And then the virus spread on the ship.

This sounds like a small story, but it's real.

Let's also talk about where the ship is now.

On May 3, the ship reached Cape Verde.

Cape Verde is a country off the west coast of Africa, in the Atlantic.

The ship arrived there wanting to disembark its sick passengers.

But Cape Verde made the ship anchor outside.

They were afraid the virus would reach the islands.

On May 6, the three most severe patients were flown directly to a hospital in the Netherlands.

The others are still on board.

Then, the ship began heading toward the Canary Islands.

The Canary Islands belong to Spain, where there are larger hospitals that can handle this kind of situation.

But at first, the leader of the Canary Islands also didn't want the ship to dock.

He said: "Our people cannot be infected."

This created another problem.

Later, the Spanish government stepped in and said: no.

We must let them dock.

This is in line with international rules, and with basic decency.

People have been waiting at sea for weeks — we cannot just leave them drifting out there.

So now, the ship is slowly heading to the Canary Islands.

Let's also talk about life on the ship.

Right now, daily life on board is rather strange.

Everyone wears masks, and meals are eaten apart.

People no longer do activities together.

Some watch movies in their rooms; others walk alone on the deck.

No one throws parties, and no one is chatting much.

The doctors check temperatures every day.

Whoever feels unwell has to say so immediately.

Just imagine — you came to see Antarctica.

This was supposed to be a beautiful trip.

Now you're stuck on a ship, not knowing when you can disembark.

Not knowing if friends nearby will get sick, and not knowing if you yourself will get sick.

That feeling really isn't easy.

Finally, here's the situation today.

So far, five people have been confirmed infected.

Several more may also be infected.

The patients are in different countries: the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland.

Hospitals in four countries are all treating this disease.

The others, who aren't infected, are still on the ship waiting.

Waiting for the ship to reach the Canary Islands, and then a period of observation after disembarking.

That is, quarantine.

"Quarantine" means staying alone in a room for a few days to see if you get sick.

This story isn't over yet.

But it's already shown us several things.

First, today's world is small.

What happens on one ship can affect 23 countries.

A virus from one rodent can become news for the whole world.

We're really all in this together.

Second, viruses are invisible, but they're powerful.

So in daily life we should: wash our hands properly, and tell a doctor early if we feel unwell.

Don't touch wild animals, especially their droppings and urine.

Third, science and government matter.

Without doctors, we wouldn't know what illness it is.

Without government, the ship would have nowhere to dock.

This time, doctors helped everyone identify the virus.

The Spanish government helped open the door for everyone.

So we hope this ship can dock soon.

We hope these people can go home soon.

And we hope the whole world can learn something from this.