Canary Islands prepare offshore evacuation of hantavirus-hit cruise liner

A Dutch-flagged cruise ship carrying nearly 150 people is heading towards Spain’s Canary Islands after a hantavirus outbreak on board left three passengers dead and several others ill.

Th
e MV Hondius is expected to reach waters off Tenerife early on Sunday, with evacuation operations scheduled to begin shortly afterwards. World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus travelled to Spain on Saturday and is expected to help oversee the operation.

A Dutch couple and a German woman died onboard. Health officials confirmed that those infected tested positive for the Andes virus, the only form of hantavirus known to spread between humans, increasing international
concern over the outbreak.

“We classify everybody on board as what we call a high-risk contact,” WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness director Maria Van Kerkhove said on Saturday. She added, however, that the risk to the wider public and residents of the Canary Islands remained low.
Tedros also sought to reassure local residents, writing in an open letter, “I need you to hear me clearly: This is not another Covid.”

Strict evacuation measures planned

At the port of Granadilla de Abona, emergency preparations were underway on Saturday, with white tents set up along the quay and security forces cordoning off parts of the area. Despite the operation, normal activity continued in surrounding areas, with residents shopping, swimming and visiting cafés.

“There are worries there could be a danger, but honestly I don’t see people being very concerned,” lottery vendor David Parada said.

Regional authorities have refused permission for the
ship to dock directly. Instead, the vessel will remain offshore while passengers are screened and evacuated between Sunday and Monday, the timeframe officials say offers suitable weather conditions.

Cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said the ship was expected to arrive at 0430 GMT, with passengers and a limited number of crew beginning disembarkation from around 0700 GMT local time. “Once disembarked, they will be transferred immediately to their allocated aircraft,” the company said.

The WHO confirmed on Friday that six of eight suspected cases had tested positive. No additional suspected cases remain on the ship.

International tracing efforts continue

Spanish ministers said strict controls would ensure there was “no contact” between passengers and the local population. Travellers will leave in nationality-based groups, while all transit areas will be sealed off and a maritime exclusion zone enforced around the vessel.
The MV Hondius departed Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 for a transatlantic voyage to Cape Verde. Provincial health official Juan Petrina said it was “almost zero chance” that the Dutch passenger linked to the outbreak contracted the disease in Ushuaia due to the virus’s incubation period.

Authorities in multiple countries have also been tracing former passengers and people who may have had contact with them. A KLM flight attendant who developed mild symptoms after contact with an infected passenger later tested negative for hantavirus, according to the WHO.

The infected passenger, who was the wife of the first victim, briefly boarded a Johannesburg-to-Netherlands flight on April 25 before being removed prior to departure. She died a day later in a Johannesburg hospital.

Spanish officials also said a woman in eastern Spain who travelled on the same flight had developed symptoms and was being tested while isolated in hospital. In Singapore, two former passengers tested negative but remained in quarantine, while British authorities reported a suspected case on Tristan da Cunha, a remote settlement with a population of around 220 people.