Passengers are disembarked from the Hanta virus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius (AP Photo)
As a Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship sparked international concern, passengers on the quarantined ship began disembarking on Sunday after arriving off Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.The MV Hondius arrived in Tenerife early on Sunday after sailing from Cape Verde on May 6, following a deadly outbreak linked to the Andean Hantavirus strain. Three people have already died due to the infection, while five passengers who had left the ship earlier tested positive.Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise operator Oceanwide Expeditions said none of the more than 140 people still on board the ship showed symptoms at the time evacuations began.The passengers were transported to shore in small launch boats carrying between five and ten people at a time. According to the Spanish Ministry of Health, Spanish citizens were given priority during the evacuation.Everyone leaving the ship had to undergo a medical examination before boarding evacuation flights organized by their countries. “The whole process is going normally,” Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said.
Authorities said evacuation flights were expected to continue on Sunday and Monday. More than 20 nationalities are represented among passengers and crew.WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to Tenerife to supervise the operation alongside officials from the Spanish Ministries of Health and Interior. Authorities said those who disembark will remain isolated from local residents.Hantavirus is generally transmitted through exposure to rodent droppings, urine, or saliva, and is not considered easily transmitted between humans.
However, the Andean variant identified in this outbreak has, in rare cases, shown the ability to spread from person to person. Symptoms can appear anywhere between one and eight weeks after exposure.The Spanish passengers are expected to be transferred to a medical facility for quarantine. Oceanwide Expeditions said there were 13 Spanish passengers and a Spanish crew member on the ship.Meanwhile, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have confirmed evacuation plans for their nationals, while Australia is sending a plane expected to arrive on Monday for Australians and citizens of neighboring countries including New Zealand.American travelers will be isolated at a medical center in Nebraska, while British citizens will be subject to hospital observation upon arrival. France said five of its citizens would be repatriated and monitored in hospital for 72 hours before starting a 45-day home quarantine.Norway also sent a specialized ambulance aircraft equipped to deal with cases of highly dangerous infectious diseases.Disembarking passengers have been instructed to leave most of their belongings behind and carry only essential items such as documents, phones and chargers.Some crew members, along with the body of a passenger who died during the voyage, will remain on board the ship as it sails to Rotterdam in the Netherlands for disinfection procedures. The cruise operator said the trip is expected to take about five days.The outbreak was first reported to the World Health Organization on May 2 after several passengers on the Dutch-flagged cruise ship became ill with severe respiratory illness during the voyage.
Investigators believe the infection may have originated with a passenger who spent more than three months traveling through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay before boarding the ship on April 1. The passenger later developed symptoms and died on board the ship.
The WHO said current evidence suggested the virus was likely to spread more through close contact on board the ship, with confirmed cases of the Andean Hantavirus strain identified – a rare variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission.Since then, an international response involving several countries, the World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has been launched to contain the outbreak. Symptomatic passengers have been medically evacuated, confirmed cases are isolated, and widespread contact tracing has begun in several countries. Passengers and cabin crew have been asked to remain in cabins, monitor symptoms for 42 days and follow strict infection control measures.
Authorities are also conducting genomic sequencing and epidemiological investigations to trace the exact source of exposure and better understand how infection was transmitted on board.
