The suspected first case in the deadly “rat virus” cruise ship outbreak has reportedly been traced to a Dutch birdwatcher
The suspected first case in the deadly “rat virus” cruise ship outbreak has reportedly been traced to a Dutch birdwatcher. Ornithologist Leo Schilperoord, 70, is said to have boarded the MV Hondius with his wife after an ill‑fated visit to a landfill in Argentina.
Schilperoord is said to have been the first person to die from the virus on board the vessel. His wife, Mirjam Schilperoord, reportedly left the ship with his body but later died in South Africa as she attempted to board a flight back to the Netherlands.
The pair, from Haulerwijk, a Dutch village of around 3,000 residents, were named in obituaries carried in the village’s monthly magazine.
After returning to Argentina on March 27, the Schilperoords reportedly visited a landfill around four miles outside Ushuaia. Reports say the couple had been travelling around South America for five months before joining the MV Hondius. The couple even worked together on research, co-writing a 1984 piece on pink-footed geese for Dutch birding magazine Het Vogeljaar.
Friends said they travelled the globe in search of wildlife, including an “unforgettable” 12-day private birdwatching tour of Sri Lanka in 2013, where they were thrilled to spot the rare Serendib Scops Owl, the New
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