In a statement to the BBC, Oceanwide Expeditions says it is investigating if hantavirus is linked to the three deaths on the cruise.

"A strain of hantavirus has been identified in one passenger who was previously medically evacuated from the vessel and is currently being treated in intensive care in Johannesburg," it says, referring to the 69-year-old Briton.

"Hantavirus has not been confirmed in the two symptomatic individuals currently on board."

It says it is looking into the "exact cause" of the deaths and "any possible connection".

"We are currently establishing the full facts and working on appropriate medical care, screening and next steps," it says.

Oceanwide Expeditions tells the BBC it expects to provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available.

Image source, Oceanwide Expeditions

The MV Hondius is 107.6m long, with a breadth of 17.6m and a draft - how deep the vessel sits in the water - of 5.3m.

There are 80 cabins on board, in which up to 170 passengers and 57 crew, 13 guides and one doctor can stay, according to cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions.

Two passengers sleep in most of the classes of cabins available but some have three and four berths in a space measuring 15.3 sq m.

The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

The MV Hondius is run by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions.

According to an itinerary on its website, MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia in Argentina on 20 March and was expected to complete its journey on 4 May in Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic west of Africa.

It is described as a 107.6m (353ft) polar cruise ship, with space for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, along with 57 crew members, 13 guides and one doctor.

A separate statement from the South African Department of Health says the ship was carrying around 150 tourists.

Dutch authorities are leading efforts to repatriate two symptomatic people aboard the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions says.

"The body of the deceased individual is also planned to be included in this repatriation, along with a guest closely associated with the deceased," it says, adding the guest is not symptomatic.

To help the sick people return home to the Netherlands, Oceanwide Expeditions says it needs authorisation and support from authorities in Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic west of Africa.

"We are in close contact with those directly affected and their families and are providing support where possible," it says.

In an update on the situation on board the MV Hondius, cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions says it has not been authorised by Cape Verde to allow crew members needing urgent medical assistance to disembark.

It says health officials have visited the ship, located off the coast of Cape Verde, and assessed "the two symptomatic individuals".

They are yet to make a decision regarding the transfer of these individuals into medical care in Cape Verde," Oceanwide Expeditions says in its statement.

It adds its priority is to ensure the two crew members checked by Cape Verde health officials "receive adequate and expedited medical care".

A spokesperson from South Africa's Department of Health says the ship was carrying about 150 tourists from various countries, and left Ushuaia in Southern Argentina about three weeks ago.

They say it was heading to the Canary Islands with multiple stops in between, including mainland Antarctica, the Falklands, South Georgia, Nightingale Island, Tristan, St Helena, Ascension, and Cape Verde.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that one hantavirus case had been confirmed in a laboratory, with five more suspected cases under investigation.

A spokesperson from the South African Department of Health now says the confirmed case is a 69-year-old British national.

He says the patient from the UK "became ill while the ship was travelling from St Helena to Ascension Island and was transferred from a hospital in Ascension to a South African private health facility in Sandton for medical attention".

"His laboratory test results came back positive for hantavirus," the spokesperson says.

South Africa's Department of Health spokesman Foster Mohale says the 70-year-old man "suddenly became ill" as the cruise ship sailed from the city of Ushuaia in Argentina to the island of St Helena.

Mohale adds that the man presented with "fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhoea", before dying on arrival in St Helena.

A spokesman for the South African Department of Health tells the BBC the 70-year-old cruise passenger who died is "awaiting repatriation to the Netherlands".

Foster Mohale says the man's wife collapsed while "trying to connect to a flight to her home country of the Netherlands" and "unfortunately passed away" in hospital in the Kempton Park area.

The UK Foreign Office tells the BBC it is monitoring reports closely, and is "ready to support British nationals" following the suspected hantavirus outbreak.

"We are in touch with the cruise company and local authorities," a spokesperson adds.

As we reported in an earlier post, one British national, aged 69, is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has told the BBC earlier that three people have died following the suspected outbreak. One case has been confirmed, with five more suspected cases under investigation, it says.

Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

This includes "exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces".

In rare cases, WHO says the virus can also spread between people, and can lead to "severe respiratory illness".

It requires "careful patient monitoring, support and response", WHO says.

The World Health Organization (WHO) tells the BBC that "detailed investigations" into the suspected hantavirus cases are "ongoing, including further laboratory testing".

"Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing," it adds.

"WHO is facilitating coordination between Member States and the Ship’s operators for medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, as well as full public health risk assessment and support to the remaining passengers on board."

Image source, Getty Images

South African authorities have told the BBC that the first person to show virus symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board the MV Hondius cruise ship.

His body is now on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic.

His 69-year-old wife also became ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital.

The husband and wife were a Dutch couple, AFP news agency reports citing a source close to the case.

Speaking anonymously, the source tells AFP the third fatality was still on board the ship, and discussions were under way to decide whether two other sick passengers should be placed in isolation in hospital in Cape Verde.

Three people have died after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization (WHO) has told the BBC.

One case has been confirmed, with five more suspected cases under investigation, it says.

One British national aged 69 is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

Hantavirus infections are usually linked to environmental exposure, such as contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents, but in rare cases can spread between people, leading to severe respiratory illness.

We’ll bring you more on this story.