The request comes after the Ministry of Health asked the Canarian executive to activate the High-Level Isolation and Treatment Unit (UATAN) at the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, located in Tenerife, to treat a severely affected patient.
The Dutch cruise ship Hondius, currently anchored off Cape Verde, has reported seven affected passengers and three deaths linked to the outbreak. The alert was channeled through the European early warning system, known as the Early Warning System, which coordinates responses to international health threats.
“"Safety and guarantees for passengers and for Canarians regarding any decision made by the World Health Organization and the Government of the Canary Islands in relation to the hantavirus outbreak detected on the 'Hondius'."
Authorities in the Netherlands have requested not only medical assistance but also that it be provided in a facility prepared for high-biological-risk cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Spanish Ministry of Health have determined the transfer of the ship to Tenerife and the evacuation of the most severe patient to La Candelaria Hospital.
The selection of this hospital in Tenerife is due to the patient's condition, the characteristics of the virus, and its geographical proximity to other similar units in the national territory, being part of the state network for High-Risk Infectious Diseases (EIAR).
