National and international health authorities are closely monitoring the MV Hondius, a cruise ship that has reported a hantavirus outbreak during its voyage from Ushuaia. Cases associated with the vessel now total nine, including three fatalities and five laboratory-confirmed positives. Recently, a Dutch flight attendant, who did not travel on the ship but had contact with one of the affected individuals, was hospitalized in Amsterdam.
The vessel, operated by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, departed with 88 passengers and 59 crew members of 23 nationalities. Among them are 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member, five of whom reside in Catalonia. According to authorities, none of them are currently showing symptoms of the disease.
“"The cruise ship will not dock in the Canary Islands; it will only anchor, and evacuation will be by tender boat."
The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating a birdwatching trip through Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina, undertaken by a Dutch couple who died in April after falling ill on the cruise, as a possible origin of the outbreak. It is believed they visited areas where the Andes virus-carrying rat, the confirmed variant, is present.
The Ministry of Health will detail the specific conditions for mandatory quarantine for Spanish passengers in the coming hours. The WHO has clarified that, although the hantavirus incubation period can be up to six weeks, isolation does not necessarily have to last that long, though active monitoring will be maintained. The organization emphasizes that the risk to the general population remains low.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has confirmed that the Dutch-flagged cruise ship, arriving from Cape Verde, will anchor in Granadilla, Tenerife, and passenger evacuation will be carried out by a tender boat or mother ship, without the vessel docking in port. This decision was made after a meeting with the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres.
