New Delhi, May 9 -- Six of the eight people who had fallen ill, including three who died, were confirmed cases of hantavirus linked to the Spain-bound cruise ship, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The agency said that the other two people were probable cases.

The ship, heading to Spain's Canary Islands, left Cabo Verde 6 with 147 passengers and crew on board when the outbreak was first reported on May 2, while 34 others had already left the vessel.

On Thursday, the cruise operator, Oceanwide Expeditions, and Dutch officials said that more than two dozen people from at least 12 different countries left the ship at the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic on April 24.

The WHO said the risk to the wider global po...