Particle.news
Download on the App Store

MV Hondius Hantavirus Outbreak Reaches Tenerife With Six Cases and Three Deaths Confirmed

Health officials call for 42 days of follow-up because the detected strain can occasionally spread person to person.

Overview

  • The cruise ship, which reached Tenerife on Sunday, is conducting health checks before passengers disembark in stages for flights arranged by their home countries.
  • WHO confirmed six infections, including three deaths, and said lab tests detected the Andes hantavirus strain that is known to rarely spread between people.
  • Two additional people linked to the voyage are under investigation, including a woman in Alicante and a man who disembarked on Tristan da Cunha, according to Reuters.
  • WHO assesses the chance of a wider outbreak as low but classifies all passengers as high-risk contacts and recommends 42 days of monitoring after last exposure.
  • U.S. authorities are observing earlier disembarked travelers in California, Arizona, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas, and the State Department plans a charter to repatriate Americans from Tenerife.