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Spain to Receive Hantavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship After WHO Evacuates Critical Patients

WHO-led evacuations with a planned Tenerife docking aim to contain a low-risk Andes hantavirus outbreak.

Overview

  • The WHO said Wednesday it evacuated three of the sickest people from the MV Hondius in Cabo Verde to hospitals in Europe.
  • Spain’s health ministry approved a Tenerife docking within days for health checks and repatriation, as the Canary Islands government voiced opposition.
  • Labs in South Africa and Switzerland confirmed the Andes hantavirus in linked cases, a strain that can spread person to person only with very close, prolonged contact.
  • About 147 to 149 people of 23 nationalities remain on board, most without symptoms, and plans call for foreigners to fly home and 14 Spaniards to quarantine in a Madrid hospital.
  • Investigators continue sequencing and contact tracing, including passengers on a St HelenaJohannesburg flight, after three deaths tied to the voyage triggered the international response.