Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship docks in Canary Islands, passengers evacuated

Guardia Civil boats surround the MV Hondius after docking on Sunday in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands. Photo by Chris McGrath /Photographer: Chris McGrath/Gett

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A cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak is starting the process of evacuating passengers in Spain’s Canary Islands, almost a month after the contagious disease broke out.

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The vessel, the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, anchored near Tenerife on Sunday and people have started to disembark, beginning with Spanish citizens, Spain’s Health Ministry said.

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“The docking took place at 6:30 a.m. and has been a success in spite of all the adversities,” Health Minister Mónica García said in a statement. Health officials have found that “all passengers are asymptomatic,” she added.

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Passengers from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium will follow and be flown to their countries, with both a Spanish and a Dutch plane ready. The Irish government is sending a plane to Spain on Sunday to repatriate two Irish citizens, who will then be sent to a medical facility for monitoring and isolation, a situation that could take several weeks, broadcaster RTE said.

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Four Canadians are among the remaining roughly 130 passengers on board, according to Oceanwide Expeditions, the ship’s owner.

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The ship arrived from Cape Verde.

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dczp7ygg(fo(a2xer[e2um11_media_dl_1.png Bloomberg, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap

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The health crisis triggered a cross-border response with global authorities coordinating evacuations, screening and repatriation across several countries.

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Hantavirus is a rare infection typically spread through contact with infected rodent droppings or inhaling contaminated dust. Symptoms can take weeks to appear, and in severe cases the illness can progress rapidly to respiratory failure, with fatality rates reaching as high as 50 per cent in the Americas.

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The World Health Organization has identified eight medical cases linked to the cruise — five suspected and three laboratory-confirmed — including three deaths. Passengers, crew and expedition staff from 23 countries remain on the Hondius.

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The impact of the outbreak has spread beyond the ship. In Italy, some passengers are isolating, after four people were found to have been travelling with one of the victims, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.

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The outbreak started when the first patient, a Dutch man, and his wife travelled in South America before boarding the ship in Argentina on April 1. Both have since died.

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— With assistance from Angela Cullen.

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