Countries worldwide scrambled on ​Thursday to trace people who had left the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak before ‌it got marooned off the coast of Cape Verde, in an effort to prevent further spread of the disease.

Three people, a Dutch couple and a German national, died in the outbreak on the MV Hondius.

Eight people, including a Swiss citizen, are suspected ​to have contracted the virus, according to the World Health Organisation.

The Dutch government on Wednesday said ​around 40 passengers had disembarked the ship in Santa Helena, where the ship made ⁠a stop on its way to Cape Verde – before the outbreak was reported.

The whereabouts of many of these ​passengers is as yet unknown.

One of those to disembark was the wife of the Dutchman who had died aboard the ​ship on April 11. She fell sick herself and died before she could reach the Netherlands.

Dutch airline KLM on Wednesday said it had taken the woman off a plane in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 25 due to her deteriorating medical condition.

The virus found ​in the victims has been confirmed as the Andean strain, which can spread among humans through very close ​contact.

–Reuters–