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Medics escort a patients, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, to an ambulance after being flown to Schiphol airport. Photo: Peter Dejong

Three passengers on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The outbreak was reported on the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, which was travelling between Argentina and Cape Verde.