On Monday evening, the last 28 passengers disembarked from the cruise ship MV Hondius, on which there were cases of hantavirus infectionAFP reported. The ship, which had to anchor in the port on the Spanish island of Tenerife due to bad weather, set sail for the Netherlands after completing the evacuation, writes TASR. Due to anchoring in the port of Granadilla, the final evacuation was delayed and the original plan was changed, according to which the ship was to remain at sea for safety reasons.
After evacuation from the vessel, the passengers are transported to the Netherlands by two planes. There some of them will spend some time in quarantine and from there they will go to their home countries. The Spanish Minister of Health, Monica Garcíová, already stated on Sunday evening that 94 people of 19 nationalities were evacuated and then repatriated from a cruise ship sailing under the Dutch flag that day. Only 25 crew members and two medics remained on board the ship, who will transport it to the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
The vessel, which is also carrying the body of one deceased passenger, is expected to arrive at its destination in six days on Sunday evening. Since the outbreak of the disease on the MV Hondius, three passengers have died – a Dutch married couple and a German woman. Hantavirus is a rare disease that is usually spread among rodents. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday confirmed seven cases of infection with the Andes strain of hantavirus, the only one that can be transmitted from person to person
The Spaniard, who was hospitalized in a military hospital in Madrid after being evacuated from the ship, also tested positive, the Spanish Ministry of Health reported on Monday evening. However, he showed no symptoms. For the other 13 Spanish evacuated passengers, the test results have so far been negative. Hantavirus is especially endemic in Argentina, where the ship sailed from in April. There is no vaccine or specific treatment against it. The WHO emphasized that the global risk to public health is low and rejects parallels with the COVID-19 pandemic.
