Spanish authorities are making preparations to receive over 140 passengers and crew members from a cruise ship affected by hantavirus as it heads towards the Canary Islands. Health officials are planning careful evacuations upon the vessel’s expected arrival at Tenerife, an island off the West African coast. Virginia Barcones, head of Spain’s emergency services, mentioned that passengers will be taken to an isolated and restricted area.
The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens from the cruise ship. Canadian consular officials are en route to meet with four Canadians still on board. Despite the deaths of three people and five passengers being infected with hantavirus after leaving the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions, the cruise operator, confirmed that there were no symptomatic individuals on board the Dutch-flagged ship, MV Hondius.
The World Health Organization has stated that the risk of a wider public outbreak from the hantavirus is low. Concerns were raised after a flight attendant who briefly interacted with an infected cruise passenger tested negative for the virus. Christian Lindmeier, a WHO spokesperson, emphasized that the risk remains low and clarified that hantavirus is not similar to COVID-19.
Health authorities globally are actively tracking and monitoring passengers who disembarked before the outbreak was identified. Contact tracing efforts are underway to identify individuals who may have come into contact with infected persons. Canadians who disembarked from the ship are isolating in Ontario and Quebec, as per federal officials.
In the UK, a British national suspected of being infected with hantavirus is on the island of Tristan da Cunha. Spanish health officials are testing a woman in Alicante for hantavirus symptoms. Two Britons from the ship have tested positive for the virus, with one hospitalized in the Netherlands and the other in South Africa.
Spanish officials have reassured the public in the Canary Islands about potential exposure to the virus. Plans for evacuating passengers from the ship involve small boats to buses, ensuring their repatriation flights are ready before transport. Spain has requested medically equipped aircraft in case of symptomatic passengers to prevent contact with the general population.