Patient zero of thehantavirusoutbreak has been identified, and the location where he contracted the rat-borne disease has been revealed.

A Dutch birdwatcher who visited a landfill site described as the "end of the world" has been identified as patient zero on board the MV Hondius cruise ship. Ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, 70, boarded the MV Hondius with his wife after making a fateful visit to the rubbish tip in Argentina. Leo was the first passenger to lose his life to theviruswhile on board the vessel. His wife, Mirjam Schilperoord, disembarked the ship with his body but tragically died while attempting to board a flight to the Netherlands from South Africa.

READ MORE:UK to fly 22 Britons from hantavirus ship home to UK this weekend

READ MORE:Protests erupt in Tenerife as furious crowds threaten to block hantavirus ship

The couple, from Haulerwijk, a small village of 3,000 people in the Netherlands, were named in obituaries published in their local monthly village magazine,The Sun reports. Prior to boarding theMV Hondius, Leo and Mirjam had been on a five-month trip across South America. On March 27, they visited a landfill site four miles outside the city of Ushuaia.

The rubbish tip on the outskirts of the town is home to rare species of Patagonian birds, including the White-bellied Seedsnipe. The site, dubbed "the end of the world" and avoided by locals, is a popular destination for birdwatching tourists.

Argentine authorities believe the Dutch couple contracted the feared Andes strain of the hantavirus at the site, likely through exposure to infected rodents at the rubbish dump.

On April 1, the couple set sail on the MV Hondius from Ushuaia, alongside 112 other passengers. By April 6, Leo reported suffering from a fever, headache, stomach pain and diarrhoea.

He passed away on the ship five days later, with his body remaining on board until April 24, when the ship docked in St Helena.

Mirjam travelled with his body to South Africa, but she also started to become unwell. Her health subsequently worsened as she got ready to catch a KLM flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam.

Source: Daily Express :: World Feed