Cargo ship quarantined
after crew member dies

Houston Chronicle
September 08, 2004

Galveston - A cargo ship remains under quarantine about 10 miles off the Galveston shore after a crew member died Aug. 31 from an as-yet unidentified illness authorities said could be Lassa Fever or malaria.

The ship, which had returned from a voyage to West Africa, was headed to Pasadena but voluntarily anchored offshore Sunday, Galveston County Health District spokesman Kurt Koopmann said.

The county, along with the federal Centers for Disease Control and the Texas Department of Health Services, is investigating the unidentified man's death. The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy today, and samples will be sent to the CDC, Koopmann said.

The CDC is not identifying the cargo ship until the conclusion of the investigation, Koopmann said.

Lassa Fever is a rodent-borne viral illness that can lead to deafness and is believed to cause 5,000 deaths a year in West Africa.

Read the press release