The Foreign Health Area of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands keeps the coordination channels open with different organizations in the event of the possibility that the cruise MV Hondius, investigated for a possible hantavirus outbreak, stop in the Archipelago. The ship, which departed from the Argentine port of Ushuaia on a voyage across the Atlantic, had planned to end its journey in the Canary Islands.
The action is part of the coordination mechanism activated by the World Health Organization (WHO)which this Sunday reported the death of three people after contracting hantavirus, an infection that can cause serious respiratory symptoms. According to data communicated by the international organization, there are six people affected: three have died and one remains admitted to an intensive care unit in South Africa.
The Government Delegation in the Canary Islands has indicated that meetings are being held with the Foreign Health Subdirectorate of the Ministry of Health and with him Coordination Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies. The objective is to monitor the case and prepare the necessary actions if the ship finally stops in Canarian ports.
The measures adopted will be based on scientific evidence and risk assessment within the framework coordinated by the WHO.
What are hantaviruses?
Hantaviruses are a family of viruses transmitted primarily by rodents, such as rats and mice. They can cause serious illnessesincluding the potentially fatal hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. The WHO indicates that only one of its types has the capacity to transmit between people.
South African authorities confirmed that the first person affected was a 70-year-old passenger who presented symptoms and died on board. His wife, 69, also fell ill and was evacuated to a hospital in South Africa, where she died. Another man, also 69 years old and of the same nationality, remains hospitalized in Johannesburg in intensive care.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands has confirmed to Dutch public television that the deceased couple, a 70-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman, were Dutch citizens.
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