Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Hantavirus Cruise Ship Evacuation Underway Off Tenerife

Health officials say the operation poses low risk to the public.

Overview

  • Passengers began disembarking Sunday off Tenerife, with small boats, medical screening and sealed buses moving them directly to waiting repatriation flights.
  • Spanish authorities kept the vessel at anchor and plan to send it to the Netherlands for disinfection after flights finish on Monday, with a limited crew remaining aboard.
  • France reported that one of five evacuees developed symptoms during the flight and placed the group in strict isolation on arrival for testing.
  • The World Health Organization has confirmed six Andes hantavirus cases linked to the ship, identified two probable cases and reported three deaths, and classified everyone on board as high‑risk contacts.
  • U.S. passengers will be assessed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center then monitored for about 42 days, while Spanish nationals are isolating at a military hospital in Madrid.