An American travel blogger stuck aboard the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship defended the vessel’s cleanliness, stating that the ship is “maintained to a very high standard.”

Three people have died, and several others have fallen ill on the MV Hondius following the outbreak of hantavirus, a rare, rodent-borne illness . Global health authorities suspect the first person caught the virus before boarding the ship, and later transmitted it to other passengers.

Only two cases of the virus, which is passed from rodents to humans through their droppings, have been confirmed by health authorities, and officials maintain that the risk to global health is low.

Travel blogger Jake Rosmarin has been documenting his time aboard the illness-stricken ship, telling The Independent in a statement that aside from the two confirmed cases, the other passengers on board are “doing well” and remain “in good spirits.”

Rosmarin noted that the MV Hondius is an expedition vessel, not an average cruise ship, and is held to a higher…