GRANADILLA DE ABONA (SPAIN): An American national and a French woman evacuated from a cruise ship linked to a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, health officials confirmed on Monday, as an international repatriation operation continued across several countries.
According to French Health Minister Stephanie Rist, the French passenger began feeling unwell on Sunday night after returning to Paris from the Dutch-flagged cruise vessel MV Hondius. Medical tests later confirmed she had contracted the virus.
Meanwhile, US health authorities said one American passenger had developed mild symptoms while another tested positive for the Andes virus, the only known strain of hantavirus capable of spreading between humans.
The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has already claimed the lives of three passengers, including a Dutch couple and a German woman. Several other passengers also fell ill during the voyage.
Hantavirus is a rare disease usually spread through contact with infected rodents. There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment available for the illness, which is considered endemic in parts of Argentina, where the cruise began its journey in April.
Despite growing international concern, health authorities stressed that the overall risk to global public health remains low and rejected comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic.
French authorities said 22 additional contact cases involving French nationals were being monitored. These included passengers who travelled on flights between Saint Helena and Johannesburg, and between Johannesburg and Amsterdam.
The Dutch woman who later died had reportedly travelled on the Johannesburg flight and briefly boarded a connecting flight to Amsterdam before being removed from the aircraft.
Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said 94 people from 19 countries were evacuated from the ship on Sunday near Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Most of the ship’s nearly 150 passengers and crew members are expected to be repatriated through special flights to countries including Australia and the Netherlands.
Passengers wearing blue medical protective suits were seen disembarking the vessel at the industrial port of Granadilla on Tenerife.
The World Health Organization has recommended a 42-day quarantine period and active medical monitoring for exposed individuals.
Countries have adopted different quarantine measures. Greece said one evacuee would remain in hospital isolation for 45 days, while Australia announced that six passengers would be quarantined at a special facility near Perth for at least three weeks.
British authorities said 20 UK nationals from the ship would undergo testing and short-term quarantine near Liverpool.
The MV Hondius departed from Ushuaia in Argentina on April 1 for a transatlantic cruise toward Cape Verde.
The World Health Organization believes the first infection may have occurred before the voyage began, followed by human-to-human transmission aboard the ship.
Spain on Monday said it is taking "all measures" to prevent hantavirus spread from those aboard the cruise ship.
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