Overview
- Spanish authorities plan to move 140 people from the MV Hondius to a secured area in Tenerife with WHO coordination after three deaths and at least eight hantavirus illnesses linked to the voyage.
- WHO and national experts say hantaviruses usually spread from rodents, while person‑to‑person spread is rare and linked to the Andes strain, so broad community risk remains low even as contacts are monitored.
- Researchers at Tokyo University reported in Cell that a SARS‑CoV‑2‑related virus found in Thai horseshoe bats can attach to the human ACE2 receptor in lab tests yet has shown weak growth with no known human infections.
- The study team said current COVID vaccines and drugs worked against the bat virus in experiments, and they urged stronger wildlife surveillance rather than public alarm.
- India’s ICMR described any detections tied to the cruise as imported and said its national virology institute and 165 diagnostic labs can test for hantavirus, with guidance that routine rodent control and basic precautions reduce risk.