Hantavirus-Hit Cruise Ship Arrives in Tenerife

A cruise ship affected by a deadly hantavirus outbreak arrived at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife early on Sunday, where Spanish authorities began preparing to evacuate passengers and some crew members, according to Reuters footage.

Passengers displaying no signs of infection will be tested by Spanish health authorities before being taken to shore in small boats, officials said. They will then be transported in sealed buses to the island’s main airport, about 10 minutes away, before boarding flights to their home countries.

As a precaution, all passengers on the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius are being treated as high-risk contacts, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Saturday evening in a rapid scientific advisory.

Spanish officials said on Saturday that Spanish nationals would disembark first, followed by other nationalities in groups. Thirty crew members will remain on board and sail to the Netherlands, where the ship will be disinfected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that eight people had fallen ill, including three who died. The victims were a Dutch couple and a German national. Six infections have been confirmed as hantavirus cases, while two remain suspected, the WHO said.

(reuters, im)